Let's Play Cops and Robbers
by sLiCeOfLiFe
Summary: You will never hear someone say being a part of the FBI is easy work. If they did, they'd be lying. From the long hours, to the daily drug busts, to psychotic and murderous criminals, special agent Sakura Haruno certainly has her work cut out for her. AU
1. Welcome to the FBI

So here is another story that I'm starting. It's not going to be a one-shot, it's just another story to add to the world of fanfiction. It is AU in a plot that I've been interested in writing for a while now. I hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any other character from the series…or the FBI.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

* * *

><p>Ch.1 Welcome to the FBI<p>

She leaned back in her stiff desk chair with her legs crossed and feet propped up at the edge of her desk. The hem of her tight high-waisted black skirt stopped slightly above her knees while her sleek black pumps were shown off on her desk. The sleeves of her snug white collared shirt were now wrinkled as they were rolled up to her elbows while her index fingers pressed against each end of the pencil she had in her grasp. Her emerald eyes were focused on the computer screen in front of her as if she had nothing else to concern herself with.

As she continued to gaze at the lit computer screen, the sleek black office phone on her desk began to ring. She held the pencil in one of her hands and reached to the edge of her desk and lightly grabbed the ringing receiver. "This is Haruno."

"_You're too damn serious when you answer the phone,"_ the voice on the other line told her in a tone that made it obvious the male was smirking.

The woman let out an annoyed sigh as she leaned back farther letting the phone cord stretch to the longer length, "And you're wasting my time, Inuzuka. What do you want?"

She heard him release a short chuckle into the phone, _"Calm down, Sakura. I was just wondering if you got a hold of the files to the latest __Jinchuuriki case I sent you."_

The addressed female let out a short sigh as she removed her feet from her desk and sat up straight in her chair before tucking the phone between her shoulder and cheek. Her slender fingers typed at a quick pace and she was to files she needed before she knew it. "Yeah, they're right here. What do you want me to do with them?"

"_Can you just check over them? Make sure I didn't miss anything important in my report."_

Sakura crossed her legs once more as she held onto the phone with her elbow resting on the arm of her chair. "Isn't this supposed to be your partner's job? I have more important things I could be doing than double checking your work, Kiba," she chided towards her co-worker as she ran her manicured fingers through her long bubblegum pink tresses.

"_He's busy with a debriefing with the chief,"_ Kiba told her with a slight pout becoming evident in his voice. _"Please, Sakura. You're gorgeous. I'll buy you a drink."_

The pinkette let out a huff of displeasure at the male as her hand sunk down from her hair to rub her eyes. This was typical Kiba behavior in her books. He may be a top agent, but it seemed that he could never do anything by himself. Kiba is a field agent, and a good one at that. He isn't afraid to get down and dirty to pull up information on a case, which is why Sakura liked to work with him. He was also easy on the eyes; messy dark brown hair, sharp chocolate eyes, and unique red upside-down triangle tattoos on his cheeks. And with these good looks, he liked to hit on Sakura as often as he could. It would be blatantly obvious to say that he had a slight crush on the pinkette. This still did not outweigh the fact that she would have to help him with his work, again. "Fine, but make it two. And make sure you re-file the papers scattered across your desk. Just because it's your area, doesn't mean it has to be a complete pig sty."

"_You got it!"_ he replied with happiness noticeable in his tone. _"You're the best, Sakura. Did I mention you are the hottest chick alive?"_

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered back as she hung up the phone and began to read over Kiba's case report.

It's not that Sakura minded reading case reports, it's the fact that she was expecting to have a bad day. And why was that? Because Sakura Haruno was able to get a complete night's rest. She had a hunch that every time she was able to get a good amount of sleep, something bad was to happen in her day.

Working in the career field she did, it was rare to get more than five hours of sleep in the first place. But when she woke up on that Wednesday morning getting a full eight hours of sleep, she knew that pretty much everything else wasn't going to go her way.

Sakura was working her dream job, the one she had wanted to have since she was six years old. Now keep in mind, she wasn't dreaming of a normal job that kids at that age wanted like a teacher, a large business employee, or for the long shot, a model. Nope, her dream job was to work for the FBI. And work for the FBI she did as one of their top agents.

Most agents were hired between the ages of twenty two and twenty seven. Sakura joined the Konoha force at the age of twenty, being only one of two agents to accept that type of honor. The FBI was practically begging to have her as a part of their force.

When you looked at Sakura though, the last thing you would think of her being was an FBI agent with her flowing bubblegum locks reaching to her shoulder blades, her flawless porcelain skin, and her bright emerald green eyes. Her figure was average height at about five foot seven and her body had curves in all the right places.

If you were to look at Sakura, you'd think she could have easily gone for the long shot of being a model, and a successful one at that, but she chose to be a part of a career where she could make the world a safer place. Although, by choosing this career she was putting her life at risk on a daily basis.

And on days such as this where she got a full night's rest, she was even more on edge than usual. Although getting a good amount of sleep should be a good thing, it always brought something unfortunate to Sakura's day without fail.

As Sakura finished up looking over Kiba's case file, she let out a sigh as she tossed the finished papers that she had printed out onto her desk and looked towards the clock on her desk. Reading the time of ten twenty seven am, she figured she only had a matter of seconds before more of her co-workers flooded into the large office.

Like clockwork, the doors opened to the main floor and the all too familiar voices of her partners filled her ears. Three males walked in.

"I swear Sasuke-teme, if we would have just stayed at that bar and extra hour we all could have found a girl to take home," the loudest co-worked complained to one of the people he walked in with. "You totally cramped my style and ruined what should have been a fun night."

"Shut up, dobe," the male shot back who was previously being addressed. "You and I both know the only reason women were over at our table was because I was sitting there."

The third male sighed as he tiredly ran a hand atop of his pulled back hair, "This is why I never go out with the two of you. You're too troublesome."

"Naruto," Sakura's voice called out as the trio reached her cubicle. "Please refrain from loudly discussing your juvenile activities from the night before when I'm close enough to hear it. It's not something I want to hear first thing in the morning when you walk through the doors."

The addressed male scratched the back of his head sheepishly and gave her a matching smile, "Sorry Sakura-chan. I'll wait 'til later in the day to start talking about those things."

The pink haired agent let out a short laugh as she leaned back in her chair, "That's really not what I meant, but whatever."

The three men that walked in were some of the best agents on the force all excelling in their special fields. Naruto, the one she chided for his immature conversation, was one of the top negotiating agents on the force. He was originally a part of the police in the area but the FBI offered him a job in their ranks due to his highly praised skilled in the field of human behavior. Looks wise, Naruto was a handsome fellow with bright blonde hair styled in spikes along the top of his head. His skin was sun-kissed accenting the bright blue irises he was blessed with. Like all FBI agents, Naruto was in the best shape of his life and showing of his muscles too Sakura was his way of flirting with her.

The second male was a popular male in the FBI; Sasuke Uchiha. His entire family was invested in some sort of law enforcement job all over the country. His father was once a higher up in the company before he passed away, which put in a good word for Sasuke once he wanted to join the force, not that he needed the help of course. Sasuke was a talented agent on his own as well as good looking. He had dark hair spiked up in the back with his slightly longer bangs hanging down across the sides of his face. He had the famous dark eyes of the Uchiha family which were extremely dark with slivers of red color amongst the irises. Sasuke was a special agent in the force just like Sakura but his long list of skills that made him a famous agent weren't the only things holding up his reputation.

Sasuke had an older brother who worked for the FBI for a portion of his life before he killed his parents in cold blood one random night. He was never found, but he is still extremely active in the criminal industry. It's Sasuke's goal in life to find his brother and make him pay for all the crimes he has committed, which is one of the main reasons he works so hard in his job position.

The third male to walk in goes by the name of Shikamaru Nara. The male with the brown pulled back hair and the deer like eyes is the top technical analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is the smartest person in the entire FBI system and was the only other agent, besides Sakura, to be accepted early into the force at the age of nineteen. Shikamaru is active in almost every case that the FBI manages because he's always available to locate information that the special agents can't locate when they're in the field. Even with his famously lazy persona, he is one of the most valuable members on the force.

Sakura shook her head with a smile as she ran a hand through her pink tresses before looking back up at the two other males. "Shikamaru, Sasuke, I'm assuming your nights were more successful than Naruto's?"

Sasuke smirked as he looked down at her seated form, "You assume correctly."

"That's bull shit Sasuke-teme and you know it!" Naruto exclaimed loudly causing Shikamaru to roll his eyes and let out a short sigh.

"I don't understand how you put up with them for so long Sakura," the genius commented as he began to walk towards his separate office. "You must be a saint."

"Sakura can't be a saint," Kiba's voice spoke as he turned the corner to pass by her desk and grab the finished files off her desk with a smirk. "She's not innocent enough."

The pinkette looked up at him through her lashes and held up her middle finger in his direction. He just continued to smirk in reply as he gave Naruto a high five before walking back to his desk.

Sasuke continued to smirk at the exchange while Naruto had a large grin spread across his cheeks. Sakura just shook her head before returning back to case files of her own.

The morning was going by relatively slow until mid-afternoon rolled around and Sakura's desk phone rang. "This is Haruno."

"Haruno," the deep voice addressed. "Round up whoever you have around you and bring them into the chief's office."

"Sure thing, Neji," she replied back before she placed the phone back onto the receiver and stood up from her chair, smoothing out the creases in her black pencil skirt. "C'mon, boys. Neji said the chief wants us in his office."

"I hope he has finally decided to put a ramen bar in the break room," Naruto spoke giddily as the group walked to the top office.

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at him strangely while the blonde just continued to smile. Once they reached the large office door, they knocked twice before a male with long chestnut hair opened the door and stepped aside to let them in.

His name was Neji Hyuga, and he was one of the higher up special agents who previously worked as an intelligence analyst before he was promoted. In terms of intelligence, his brain was on the way to rivaling Shikamaru's. In terms of status, his family was also active in the law enforcement tract. His younger cousin was a linguist in the same sector that he was a part of, while his uncle was a business manager for the FBI in a different district. Neji's looks took him places as well. With his long brown hair and unique lavender eyes, he was a real looker but his personality would not allow him to act on it. He was very cool and collected and was always making sure that everything was running smoothly. He had the characteristics of a perfectionist, which is why he excelled so much in his career.

"Good morning, Neji," Sakura greeted with a small smile as she walked through the door he was holding open for her.

"Same to you, Haruno," his deep voice replied as he pulled the door shut behind him.

The pink haired agent let out a sigh as she looked up at his taller form, "We've already gone over this, Neji; call me, Sakura. We've worked together long enough to be past the last name stage."

A flash of amusement passed through the Hyuga's eyes as he gazed down at her, "Of course, _Sakura_."

She let out a short laugh as they walked closer to the chief's desk, "I swear you act like a robot sometimes."

Neji just smirked in reply as everyone's eyes gazed at the turned around chair behind the large gray desk. The large, high backed, chair turned around slowly to show a man with spiked gray hair and a cloth mask covering the lower half of his face. His arms were crossed across his chest as he looked up at his team.

His name was Kakashi Hatake, chief of the Konoha FBI unit. This unit was one of the most highly ranked units in the country with a large assortment of different types of agents and other professional staff. They had the highest success rate when it came to solving a case, which was why they were always busy with something new. Kakashi received his position when he turned twenty eight and has remained in the position for the past four years.

"We seem to have a situation on our hands," his voice spoke lowly as his eyes passed over the eight people standing in his office. "Genma, why don't you explain to them what's going on."

"Sure," a new masculine voice answered from the opposite side of the room from Sakura.

Genma Shiranui; the assistant police chief of the FBI police unit. He was an interesting personality to say the least. When you think of a police officer you think of someone who would be hard working and straight edged. Genma was pretty much the exact opposite. He was more about doing whatever he wanted and was known in Konoha as one of the top womanizers which was where his good looks helped him out. Shaggy brown hair that hung past his chin which styled a police bandana wrapped around the top of his head and chestnut brown eyes. He was also never found without a toothpick dangling form his lips.

"It seems that some members from our police force have disappeared over the past three days, with one missing each day," the brunette police officer began to explain as he moved to lean against a near by wall, tilting his head down slightly looking at the carpet. "We thought at first they just weren't showing up for work, but then they began to go missing around the same time every day."

"And what time would that be?" Sasuke questioned as he looked at the officer with arms crossed on his chest.

Genma gazed up at the Uchiha twisting the toothpick between his lips. "They disappear between the times of nine and eleven at night."

"Was there any relation in the places they were vanishing?" Neji questioned.

Genma let out a short sigh, "Not at all. They were each in a different location."

"What about the officers missing?" Sakura's voice spoke up as her green eyes met Genma's brown orbs. "Were there any similarities between them? Or any reason as to why they could have been taken?"

"Not at all," Genma answered as his eyes continued to remain on the pinkette. "No family relation or members of the same squads. They all seemed to be random."

"What were their names and they order they disappeared in?" the pink haired agent questioned.

"Konohamaru, Iwashi Tatami, and Ebisu."

Sakura pulled her cell phone from her pocket and quickly dialed Shikamaru's number.

"Shika, I need you to pull up the profiles of the three FBI police that were reported missing over the period of the last three days," she began to explain as she held the phone to her ear.

"_Alright, shoot,"_ his voice instructed lazily.

"Konohamaru, Iwashi Tatami, and Ebisu," Sakura repeated the names as she placed one hand on her hip. "That's also the order they disappeared in."

Sakura heard the sound of Shikamaru's fingers furiously typing away across his keyboard. _"It looks like they were each a different rank in the force. And it looks like each time someone disappeared they were at a higher rank than the next."_

"It looks like they're trying to get a point across," Sakura mumbled into the phone followed by a sigh. "Thanks, Shika."

Sakura flipped her phone shut and looked up to the rest of the eyes in the room waiting on her answer. "It seems that as each day went by, the ranking of the missing officer increased."

"So they're trying to send us some sort of message," Kiba's voice reiterated Sakura's initial thought.

"What makes you say that?" Genma questioned to the tattooed brunette with a brow raised in his direction.

"Well, it looks like officers will continue to go missing as days go by," Kiba began to explain as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If the rank, or the importance, of the officer keeps increasing, it's bound to become more of an issue over time."

"And who knows," Naruto's voice interjected as he looked towards Genma. "It's possible that you would be up on the list, and that would pose a problem for not only the police force, but us as well."

"Has there been any communicated message regarding the situation?" a new voice spoke from the back of the room.

Sakura eyes slid back to take in the form of another agent in her force, Sai. He was a very odd man with a lack of proper emotions and a fake smile always plaster across his face. His skin was frightfully pale which was only accented by his inky black hair and eyes. Sai's job on the force was an information, script, and print analyst, meaning if there were any notes or prints left at the scene, he could identify them and trace them back to the source.

"No, but I'm expecting that to change," the assistant police chief answered with a deep sigh. "If they want something from us, they won't leave us in the dark."

"I agree," Kakashi's voice sounded from his desk as he leaned his elbows against the desk and clasped his hands in from of his mouth. "The question is, how will they make contact?"

"Shino," Kakashi's voice called out to the last male in the room. "I want you to get pictures of all the missing officers out to our agents and inform them of the situation."

"Yes, sir," the quiet male replied as he swiftly exited the room.

Shino Aburame was Kiba's partner as a field agent. He had very dark brown hair styled in messy spikes and he was never caught without his black sunglasses which he even kept on indoors. He had a very sheltered and quiet personality which made him pleasant to be around when you required silence.

As the rest of the group was lost in thought about possible ideas for the case, Kakashi's office phone rang.

"Kakashi Hatake."

"_Chief, there's a man calling in right now asking to talk to you,"_ Ino Yamanaka's voice explained on the other line, a slight sense of anxiousness present in her feminine voice.

Ino was a business associate in the FBI and handled all the organization and booking of anything the agents needed for a case. For someone who had to take orders often, Ino was a naturally bossy person. She had long platinum blonde hair that she always kept pulled back complimented by her deep blue eyes. The blonde was also one of Sakura's closest friends.

"Did he give you his name?" Kakashi asked in a low tone with his brows slightly knitting together.

"_No, sir,"_ she answered in a hesitant tone. _"But I think you'll want to take this call."_

He looked up to the group still in his office, who had all had caught on to the curiosity in Kakashi's voice. "Transfer the call over to me and tell Shikamaru to trace the call immediately."

"_Of course, sir,"_ Ino replied as her line went dead and he heard the click signaling the successful transfer. The chief slowly pressed the speaker phone button as he signaled silence in the rest of the room.

"This is Kakashi Hatake."

There was a deep chuckling heard on the other line and the person took in a short breath, _"I'm aware of that, Hatake."_

"Who is this?" Kakashi tried asking into the receiver.

The person on the other line let out a short sigh of amusement into his device, _"Who I am is of no importance to you, Hatake. I'd much rather talk to one of your agents."_

"Then what was the point of calling in and asking for me?" the chief question with the utmost calmness in his unwavering voice.

The agents in the room could tell the male on the other line was smirking when he spoke hi next words, _"Only to be an inconvenience."_

As the man continued to speak on the other line, Sakura couldn't help but feel that she had heard the voice once or twice before.

"Is there a point to you call?" Kakashi asked, unfazed by the male's previous comment.

The male chuckled once more, _"Of course, Hatake. I do in fact have some information you require regarding your missing police officers."_

At the sound of his words, Genma's ears seemed to perk up as well as the rest of the agents in the office.

"_But I don't really have a desire to discuss the information with you,"_ the male on the other line spoke again with an evident smirk.

"Which one of my agents do you wish to speak too?"

A hum of what sounded like enjoyment was heard form the receiver. _"I'd like to speak to Sakura Haruno."_

Sakura's eyes widened as the voice on the other end of the call spoke her name. As she slowly walked closer to the desk, the voice spoke once more.

"_And since I know you're in the room, Sakura, be a dear and pick up he receiver when you reach the phone," _the deep voice spoke with amusement lacing his tone._ "We wouldn't want anyone eavesdropping in on our _private_ conversation."_

The pink haired agent looked up at Kakashi with questioning eyes and lips slightly parted in disbelief. The chief just gave her a nod as she stepped closer and gently picked up the receiver, "This is Haruno."

The male's deep chuckle rang through her ear against the phone, _"Hello, love. I'd like to play a little game with you."_

"I'd rather you just tell me why you've kidnapped three of our police officers and where they are right now," Sakura retorted.

"_So feisty,"_ the voice on he other line commented. _"But that's not how the game works, my dear. There are some things you have to do before I can help you with that predicament of yours."_

"And what would those things be?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.

"_Your temper is adorable, Sakura-chan," _the stranger told her with a light laugh. _"I want you to dig deep down into that pretty little head of yours and answer the big question that's nagging at the back of your mind as we speak."_

"How am I supposed to answer that if I already can't figure it out?" she questioned with impatience peaking into her tone.

The male let out another chuckle, _"You're a resourceful girl, Sakura-chan. I have confidence in your skills, but I'll give you a hint. Keep in mind though; I'm not a patient person. I won't give you very long before the next person on my list goes missing."_

"Even if I do figure out who you are, I won't have any way to contact you," Sakura argued as her eyes met Naruto's from across the room.

"_Just leave the contacting to me, doll face," _his voice spoke evenly from the other device. "_Are you ready?"_

Sakura stayed silent and waited for his next words.

"_Even a second is eternal. Who am I?"_

Before Sakura could ask him anything else, the line went dead.

"Fuck," Sakura cursed as she held the now silent phone in her hand. She slammed the phone down in annoyance as she looked up at the males in the room.

"What did he say, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with concern flickering behind his sapphire eyes.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh as she raked a hand through her tousled pink tresses, "He said that before he would give me any information, I had to figure out who he was. The thing his there was something so familiar about his voice."

Kakashi took out his cell phone and quickly go a hold of Shikamaru, putting him on speaker phone. "Were you able to track anything?"

"_Well I recorded the entire call but as for tracking it pinpointed three locations in the downtown area,"_ the lazy genius explained as the sound of Kakashi's printer echoed through the room. _"I just sent you the map with the three points marked in red."_

Kakashi grasped the paper hanging from the printer rack and looked it over with Sakura gazing at it from across the desk. "It almost looks like…"

"A perimeter," Sakura finished.

"_That's exactly what I was thinking when I first looked at it, but when you look at it again the mile marks are uneven,"_ Shikamaru described as Kakashi traced his finger to connect the point.

"Let me see that," Genma requested as he walked up next to Sakura form and took the paper from Kakashi's outreaching hold. The assistant police chief's eyes narrowed before they widened at the sight. "These points are the areas that my officers were patrolling before they were kidnapped."

"He's basically drawing us a map," Sakura muttered as she looked down at the sheet in Genma's grasp.

"Shikamaru, pinpoint a relative center for that perimeter and give me a list of places around the center," Kakashi instructed as he hung up the phone before he looked up to Genma who was still standing quite still in front of his desk. "Genma, are any higher ranked officers supposed to be patrolling anywhere in this area today?"

"I know I have officers over in that area on a daily basis because it can be a bad area, why?" the brunette questioned as he twirled the toothpick in his mouth.

"And that area has to be patrolled?" Kakashi questioned behind his clasped hands.

"Yeah, it's a popular area for drug busts," Genma told the male sitting at the desk. "We can't just stop patrolling the area with all the activity that goes on there."

"He told me he wasn't a patient person," Sakura's voice spoke lowly as she looked at her chief before sitting down in one of the chair's in front of his desk. "It won't be long before he goes after another officer."

Kakashi's gaze shifted form Sakura to Genma once more, "I suggest you double the amount of officers you have patrolling the area, but not in an obvious fashion. We don't want to draw too much attention to the area."

"I'll get right on it," Genma replied as he took his leave from the office.

"Sasuke, Kiba, go back to the file room and pull any case that Sakura was a part of where the criminal took a liking to Sakura or preferred to talk to only her," Kakashi instructed to the two males.

Before the two left the office, Sakura voice stopped them. "Make it files from only the past two to three years. Male, ages late twenties to late thirties."

"Got it," Kiba answered as he and Sasuke left the office.

"Naruto, I want you to get the recording from Shikamaru and try to analyze what our guy was saying," Kakashi instructed the blonde before he turned to Neji. "Hyuga, go with Naruto and see if you and Shikamaru can find out anything else about this guy or the relation to the areas the call came from."

Both males nodded before the exited the office.

"He told me it was a game, but nothing's adding up," Sakura spoke quietly as she leaned back into the chair. "It's almost as if he's trying to elaborate me to another path."

Kakashi let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his spiked hair, "That's something we have to figure out."

About four hours later, Sakura had moved her office into one of the larger conference rooms where all of her case files were organized in a time line across the long table. She stood next to the middle of the table with her hand gripping the edge and supporting the rest of her weight.

'_There's gotta' be more meaning in what he told me other than his hint,'_ Sakura thought to herself as her eyes continued to scan the pictures of her suspects on the table. _'None of these guys match up.'_

She closed her eyes and let her head hang as she replayed his words in her head.

"_I'd like to play a little game with you."_

"_You're a resourceful girl, Sakura-chan."_

"_Keep in mind though; I'm not a patient person."_

"_Just leave the contacting to me, doll face."_

"_Even a second is eternal."_

"_Who am I?"_

Her body suddenly became ridged as she stood straight up with widened emerald eyes, "Shit. Why didn't I realize it _sooner_?"

She sprinted out of the room as fast as she could with skirt and heels she had chosen to wear that day. She grabbed the handle on the door to Kakashi's office and burst into the room.

"It's Sasori," Sakura panted as she gazed at Kakashi and the few other agents that were in his office. "Akatsuki are the ones behind this."

Sasuke immediately stood from his seat with very tense body language, "Are you sure?"

Sakura knew when it came to anything Akatsuki related, Sasuke would always jump in to be involved in any way he could since his brother was a part of the most infamous gang in the entire country.

"Positive," she told him taking in another breath before she continued. "I knew I had heard his voice before and when I started putting everything he said together I remembered he had a nickname for me and that he was never a patient person, both of which he referred too."

"Good work Sakura," Kakashi praised as he looked towards the panting pinkette. "Do we have any way to contact him though?"

"Unfortunately, no," she answered. "He said he would be doing all of the contacting."

Suddenly Kakashi's office phone rang making everyone turn and look at the small black device with anticipation. The masked chief pressed the speaker phone button, "Kakashi Hatake."

"_Sir, there is a call coming in for you,"_ Shino's voice spoke lowly from the other line. _"I believe it's the same male you were talking to earlier today."_

"Send it over, and tell Shikamaru to trace it again," the gray haired man instructed as he heard the transferring click signaling the new call.

"_Hello again, Hatake,"_ the man on the other line greeted with a smirk evident in his voice. _"Hello to you as well, doll face. Did you answer that question at the back of your mind yet?"_

"Yes, _Sasori_," she practically spat out in annoyance. "Now tell me where our officers are."

She heard the male tisk into the phone in an almost teasing manner, _"I applaud your skills Sakura-chan. I knew you wouldn't fail me, but I still can't give you the information you seek."_

"And why the hell _not_?"

"_Temper, Temper, doll face,"_ he teased openly before he gave a short chuckle. _"Although I love you fiery attitude, it won't get you far. For your next task, things are going to get a little more personal."_

The agents in the office heard a shuffling noise as if he was moving around before the sound of nervous breathing was heard on the other line.

"_S-Sakura?"_

'_Oh god…'_

"Ino," she breathed out as she leaned against Kakashi's desk with clenched fists. "Sasori you _bastard_."

They heard the male's deep chuckle once more, _"Here's your next hint, so don't disappoint me, doll face. Art is a _bang_."_

And then line went dead.

Sakura whipped her head to the side to stare at Kakashi with rage and worry in her eyes, "Where's Deidara?"

"He's in the FBI police unit's maximum security cells," Sasuke answered before Kakashi could.

And as quickly as agent Sakura Haruno entered the office, she was gone to her next destination; the Konoha maximum security prison.

* * *

><p>Wow. I like wrote all of this today cause I was having so much fun writing it. This story is inspired by all the crime shows that you can find on television now a days, most of which I enjoy. Some announcements! <strong>1.<strong> TAKE THE **NEW** ONE-SHOT POLL! **2.** Make sure that you check out my other stories. **3. **Check out my profile if you want updates on your other favorite stories. **4. **Be sure to leave me some love!


	2. Artfully Designed Plans of Action

So I'm glad there were a good amount of people that enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing the first chapter. This chapter is especially longer 'cause there was just so much I wanted to put in! Thank you to those wonderful people: Michey821, momoko09, EmoSakura95, SBPretzels, Ketsueki no Kuki, Tsukiyo Akito, Black snake eyes, Xx4ying4yang4xX, Echo Uchiha, XionNight, OnlyTheGoodDieYoung, DevilToBeLoved, xSakuraWings, AnimaAmore, damaredesu, Sexxiiness, mayalice, music1462, xxBECKEYxBOOxx, himeko63, Shadow's Ruby,

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any other character from the series…or the FBI.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone conversation"_

RECAP:

"Temper, Temper, doll face," _he teased openly before he gave a short chuckle._ "Although I love you fiery attitude, it won't get you far. For your next task, things are going to get a little more personal."

_The agents in the office heard a shuffling noise as if he was moving around before the sound of nervous breathing was heard on the other line._

"S-Sakura?"

'Oh god…'

"_Ino," she breathed out as she leaned against Kakashi's desk with clenched fists. "Sasori, you _bastard_."_

_They heard the male's deep chuckle once more,_ "Here's your next hint, so don't disappoint me, doll face. Art is a bang."

_And then line went dead._

_Sakura whipped her head to the side to stare at Kakashi with rage and worry in her eyes, "Where's Deidara?"_

"_He's in the FBI police unit's maximum security cells," Sasuke answered before Kakashi could._

_And as quickly as agent Sakura Haruno entered the office, she was gone to her next destination; the Konoha maximum security prison._

* * *

><p>Ch.2 Artfully Designed Plans of Action<p>

Kakashi sighed as he watched the enraged pinkette storm out of his office. "Sasuke, Naruto, go after her," his voice instructed them as he ran a hand through his silver hair. "At this point her temper is going to begin to get the better of her and if she's acting like this when she goes to the cell area, she's never going to stay collected enough to get the information she needs."

"Understood," the males replied as the quickly hurried to catch up the fast moving agent.

Kakashi exhaled deeply as he leaned back in his large desk chair pulling out a little orange book from his drawer. "Its days like these that I wish I had retired," he said to himself as he opened the orange book and flipped through the pages.

* * *

><p>"Sakura!" Naruto voice called after the pinkette as she burst through the exit doors and continued to briskly walk to the FBI police station next door.<p>

"Sakura, wait!" the blonde agent's voice called out once more as he and Sasuke sprinted to catch up to her. When they finally caught up to the pinkette, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to a halt along the sidewalk.

He turned her to face him and placed both of his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Sakura-chan, calm down," Naruto's voice spoke steadily as he noticed her head tilted lower and her shoulders shaking.

"I can't," she told him breathily as she looked up at him with distressed emerald eyes. "It's my fault she's with him right now."

"How is it possibly your fault?" Sasuke questioned her, being the voice of reason within her inner struggle.

"I should have _known_ that he was going to move on to someone higher up than the police officers," she explained quickly as she pulled herself from Naruto's grasp only to have him take hold of her again, but this time pulling her into an embrace. "When he didn't specify who he was taking next, I should have known," she spoke in a shaky voice as her hands gripped the material of Naruto's white dress shirt. "I should have _known_."

Naruto held the distressed pinkette to his chest with one hand on the small of her back while the other smoothed through her bubblegum tresses. "It's not your fault, Sakura-chan. But if you're going to go talk to Deidara, you can't be like this."

"You have to calm yourself down," the Uchiha added with his arms across his chest.

Sakura let out a deep breath and relaxed her grip on Naruto's shirt. "You're right, I'm sorry," she spoke evenly as she looked up at Naruto who was giving her a warming smile. "Thank you, Naruto."

"No problem, Sakura-chan," he told her with a smile then a wink. "Any time."

Naruto let her go and they finished the distance to the police station. Walking through the front doors, they all noticed the dismay that the office was in with the effect of the missing police case.

Sakura noticed Genma talking to another officer at their desk. She briskly walked over to him, and he noticed her approach as did the rest of the officers on the main floor.

"Genma," she greeted with a small nod in his direction as she let her eyes scan the other police officers in the room. "I need to see Deidara."

Sakura watched the brunette twirl his toothpick between his lips before he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his navy colored pants. "Why do you need to see him?"

Sakura let out a sigh as she placed a hand on her hip. Of course Genma was going to make things difficult and question everything she was doing. He always did.

"Because I believe he has information regarding the where-a-bouts of your missing officers," she told the brunette officer giving her a hard time, knowing he would now cut to the chase.

Everyone who was listening to Sakura's words perked up and gazed at her with anticipation. "Do you know if the culprit has taken another officer?" Genma asked as he slightly straightened his posture.

The pink haired agent's lips stiffened into a firm line as she looked up into Genma's hazel eyes. "He's taken someone," she told him monotonously. "But it wasn't an officer."

"Who was it then?" another officer questioned.

Sakura turned her head towards the officer with eyes full of emotion. She recognized the officer as Hayate Gekko, a high level officer and Genma's right hand man. "Ino Yamanaka."

"You mean one of the business associates from your unit?" Genma questioned with a sliver of surprise available in his tone. "Why her?"

Genma noticed Sakura's fist clench at her side before she turned her head back in his direction. "So he can make things personal on my behalf."

"Not to be rude and interject in your conversation, Sakura," a familiar voice spoke. "But you keep referring to the perpetrator as a 'he'." Sakura looked to the man that walked up behind Genma. Asuma Sarutobi, the chief of the FBI police and one of Kakashi's closest friends. "Now I know that you spoke to him on the phone, but do you happen to know who it is?"

"It's Deidara's partner in crime," she informed to group as she looked up to meet Asuma's dark eyes. "Sasori."

Asuma straightened his posture like his assistant had earlier and walked over to Sakura's shorter form. "Come with me."

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke followed behind the head of the police as he led them back to the holding area. As they reached the first set of doors leading into the cell area, Asuma stopped and turned to look at the agents behind him. "I can't take you all back into his cell, so it'll have to just be Sakura coming back with me."

"What would you like us to do in the mean time?" Sasuke questioned to the dark haired police chief.

"Whatever you'd like," Asuma told her before a small smirked tugged at his lips. "I would say you can go talk to the other officers but with the way they've been looking at your partner since she walked in, I'd say that's not the best idea."

Sakura let a small smile of her own play on her lips at his attempt at a joke. She looked towards her fellow agents, "Just talk to the other officers and see if any of them know anything that we don't."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied as he turned back to the many desks on the main floor.

Sakura's eyes fell onto Sasuke as he gave her a look of slight concern. "I'll be fine, Sasuke."

"If you want, you can ask Hayate to pull up the camera feed from Deidara's cell so you can watch and listen to the whole thing," Asuma suggested.

"Hn," Sasuke replied as she shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to find Hayate.

Asuma then pushed the door open and let Sakura follow him through the first area of cells. As Sakura's black pumps clicked along the concrete floor, the inmates were drawn to the sound and then to her.

She heard wolf whistles and pathetic attempts to grab her attention as she passed through the long hallway.

When she passed by one cell though, she heard a familiar voice.

"Well hello again, agent Haruno."

Sakura paused in mid-stride and looked to her left only to be greeted with the face of Kabuto Yakushi. He was sitting nonchalantly against the wall in the back of his cells. His white hair was neatly pulled back as it usually was and his glasses lay casually on the bridge of his nose.

The look of him behind the thick iron bars was quite satisfying for Sakura, as she was the one who put him there. Last year, Kabuto was kidnapping unwilling young women and practicing different surgical procedures on them while they were awake and fully able to feel everything. Once Sakura finally tracked him down and successfully captured him she took him into one of their interrogation cells where he wasn't afraid to tell her everything he had done as well as the fact that we was dying to practice some medical procedures on her.

"Kabuto," she acknowledged with a slightly smug look playing across her delicate features. "How's life behind bars?"

"Just wonderful now that I've gotten to see you in all of your ravishing glory," he told her with a small smirk playing on his lips. "Tell me agent Haruno," he began as she pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "How's that wild goose chase for my mentor going?"

Sakura's eyes flickered with animosity as she gazed at the convicted medic, "Don't worry Kabuto, he'll be joining you behind bars soon enough."

"Of course he will, agent Haruno," Kabuto spoke as he let out a low chuckle. "You have a wonderful rest of your day."

Sakura shot him a slickly sweet smile as she began to walk away, "Enjoy prison!"

The pinkette continued to follow close behind Asuma until they reached the second set of doors. Once she walked into the next hallway, she could no longer see the faces of anyone in the cells.

"Do you want to talk in his cell or would you rather move him into an interrogation room?" Asuma asked her as the stopped at a cell near the end of the hall.

"I'd rather have the opportunity to sit down and chat with him," Sakura replied as she stared at the thick iron door.

"Sure thing," the police chief replied as he pulled out a set of keys that was tucked away in his utility belt. "If you want to head over to the room, I'll meet you there with him."

"Alright," she replied as she gave him a small smile before her heels clicked along the concrete once more until she was out of sight.

Asuma sighed as he slid the key into the lock. "That girl's looks are going to be her downfall someday," he muttered to himself as he pulled open the door.

The dark haired male looked through the doorway at the requested prisoner as he sat near the back of his cell. His head leaned back and tilted up at the ceiling with his eyes remaining closed. His hands were cuffed together as they rest upon his bent knees.

"Deidara, let's go," he instructed as he stood in the doorway. "You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" the male questioned while not moving his position. "And who would be here to visit me other than you, yeah?"

"Your favorite FBI agent," Asuma replied as his gaze remained on the blonde convict.

Deidara's head turned to face the police chief with opened blue eyes and a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Agent Haruno? Well then we shouldn't keep her waiting, yeah."

With his words, Deidara stood from his spot on the cell floor and walked towards Asuma. The dark haired male knew that the blonde criminal wasn't stupid enough to give him trouble, so he really didn't have to worry. But since Deidara knew he was going to get the chance to see Sakura, he would be on his best behavior.

Once Asuma and Deidara arrived at the interrogation room, they noticed Sakura leaned casually against the door with her arms across her chest and one of her heels shoes pressed against the wall behind her.

Deidara soaked in the image of the woman before him before he let a smirk slide onto his lips, "Agent Haruno."

Sakura pushed off the wall slowly and gazed into the criminal's azure eyes, "Deidara."

She walked over to the door and pulled it open, "Why don't you come sit down so we can have a little chat."

Deidara's smirked widened at both the playfulness and danger lingering in her tone as she waited for him to walk into the room.

"Of course," he replied as he walked past her and into the room to take a seat in one of the two chairs.

Sakura turned to Asuma and held out her hand in his direction as she began to remove anything on her person that Deidara could use as a weapon, "Let me have the key to his cuffs."

"Are you sure that's wise, Sakura?" Asuma questioned as he gazed past her to see Deidara sit down and wait.

"Yes," she replied quickly as she pulled up her tight skirt slightly to un-strap the gun on her thigh. "It'll just make things easier for me with less of his complaining."

Asuma just nodded dumbly as he stared at her creamy legs and passed her the keys. She thanked him and walked through the doorway of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

He picked up his walkie from the clip on his belt and moved it up to his lips. "Raido, get the web image and sound up from the interrogation room and make sure Sakura's partners are watching it."

"_Yes sir."_

'_This should be interesting,' _Asuma thought to himself as he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and began to smoke it as he took a seat in a near by chair and watched through the one-way glass windows.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked in and pulled the door shut behind her. Taking slow but slightly seductive strides, the pinkette twirled the key to Deidara's handcuffs around her index finger.<p>

Deidara was part of the Akatsuki gang, and partner to Sasori. He was the only Akatsuki member to ever be caught and convicted for his crimes, but Sakura knew that his gang would do just about anything to get him back. The blonde was one of the more valued members in the organization, specializing in bombs and other explosive devices. With his skill set and area of specialties, it was no wonder that people called him the terrorist of the organization.

Deidara and Sakura also had a past with each other, in the sense that she was the agent that had a lot of cases involving the Akatsuki. Each member she had encountered had seemed to take some sort of liking to her; and Deidara was no exception. He was actually one of the members that was more open about his affection towards the pink haired agent. The night that led to his capture was one of his more prominent moments with his feelings.

_-Flash Back-_

_Sakura had been following the traces of Deidara for the past week until she finally found something worth going to see for herself. _

_When she arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse, she stepped out of her car and strapped her loaded gun to her thigh. She wasn't exactly expecting to use it, since all of the leads relating to Deidara weren't a whole lot of valuable information. So in taking this lead, she didn't think she needed back up._

_How wrong she was._

_She pushed the large worn down door open and pulled her gun out of it's holster at the faint noises coming from further in the warehouse. Continuing to point the gun forward, she looked around as she walked closer to where the sounds were emanating. _

_Trying to look through the small crack at the next set of doors with no luck, she slowly push the door wide enough so she could gaze into the next area._

_That's when she saw the man she'd been looking for-for the past couple weeks. There he stood on the same level as she was, looking at a man that was no more that fifty feet away from him with a large bomb strapped to his chest and his legs and arms chained to the floor._

'Oh god,'_ Sakura thought to herself as her gun slightly lowered._

"_Please! Please let me go!" the man attempted pleading towards the blonde bomber standing across the warehouse floor from him. "I won't tell anyone! Just please, let me go! I have a family waiting for me at home!"_

"_Shut up, yeah," Deidara commanded as he toyed with what looked like the remote in his hands. "I don't care about you or your family. Soon it'll all be over and you'll get to be a part of my art in your final moments. You should feel honored, yeah."_

_Sakura looked through the parted door frantically around the area the Deidara and the man were occupying. Thinking of only a limited number of things she could do, she started with sending out a silent distress signal from her phone. Knowing that reinforcements would arrive in around ten minutes, she knew she had to distract Deidara in order to save the life of the man in the blonde's current attention._

"_Deidara," Sakura called out as she continued to point her police weapon in his direction. The bomber's focus quickly snapped towards her petite form, standing before him with a gun pointed at his form._

"_Sakura, yeah," Deidara greeted as a love struck smile formed across his lips. "How wonderful of you to join me on this fine evening. You're just in time to see the show. And what luck that you'll get to see the art that I've been dedicating to you, yeah."_

_The pink haired agent's lips fell open slightly as she let the Akatsuki member's words sink into her brain. "Did you say you were…_dedicating_ them…to _me_?"_

"_Of course, Sakura," Deidara replied as he raised his arms slightly in the air as he took a few steps closer to her. "This has all been for you. Not only to give you a way to track me, but as a personal token from me to you, yeah."_

"_Why?" she asked in a hush tone, her emotions peaking through her voice as her grip constricted on her gun._

"_Because my dear, you are mine and only mine, yeah," the Akatsuki member explained her as he stepped close enough to her to only be about seven feet away._

_Sakura's brain began to reprocess the situation she was in and she pointed the gun at his chest with a look of determination. _

"_Deidara, don't get any closer to me," she instructed as she triggered the safety off her gun to let him know this wasn't a game. "Put the remote on the ground and back away from it."_

'I know he isn't going to make this easy for me,' _she thought to herself. Her thought was confirmed when Deidara's sadistic smirk reappeared on his artistic lips._

"_Sorry, my dear," his voice apologized evenly. "That's not something I can do, yeah."_

"_Deidara," her voice called out with more authority. "Put the remote down. Now."_

_His face seemed to show hints of anxiety as she told him one thing, but all he wanted to do was the opposite. She saw his hand clench around the remote to the explosive device strapped to the innocent man fifty feet away from her. Her posture tensed, and the blonde bomber took notice._

"_I can't, Sakura," his voice told her in a pleading tone. "This is for _you_. Only for you, yeah."_

_The pink haired FBI agent began to realize that he irrational and slightly insane side of Deidara was beginning to surface, and if she didn't take control of the situation soon, an innocent man's death would be on her hands._

'Why? Why is he doing this for _me_?' she tried to rationalize within herself. 'I have to focus all of his attention on me.'

"_But I don't want this, Deidara!" Sakura told him in a pleading tone of her own as her emerald eyes showed signs of the desperation for him to listen to her. "I don't want you to kill people for me!"_

_He noticed her breathing become deeper as if she was starting to hyperventilate while her expression became even more anxiety filled._

"_I can't," she paused as she breathed out shakily and looked up into his blue eyes, "I can't have this on my conscience. I won't…won't be able to _live_ with myself."_

_Deidara's expression turned to one of worry when he saw his cherry blossom having what seemed to be a panic attack. He noticed her head begin to dip and her weapon start to lower, giving him the opportunity to move even closer to her._

"_Sakura," he called out softly has became close enough to touch her. Noticing that she wasn't retreating from his approach or raising her weapon in defense, he moved on of his hands to brush along the side of her face until he reached her chin where he move her head up so he could see her eyes that he was so captivated with. _

_Those expressive eyes he loved were filled with so many emotions and he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in his heart for noticing panic and desperation that he knew he caused. _

"_You can't do this to me," he heard her whisper brokenly. _

"_I have to, yeah," he replied back as she felt the hand that held the remote lay against her neck and collarbone. The cool plastic of the device against her skin was almost taunting her._

"_If you cared for me, you _wouldn't_ do this to me."_

_He pulled her head so that he could lay his forehead on hers as his hand moved into her pink locks almost desperately. "Don't say it that way," he told her with more force in his usually smooth voice. "I'm not doing this _to_ you; I'm doing this _for_ you, yeah."_

"_I won't let you," she whispered as she moved one hand up the side of his neck to tangle in his long blonde hair while sound of her gun cocking rang in his ears before he felt the cool metal of the barrel press against the underside of his jaw. _

_-End Flashback-_

Once she reached the table that Deidara sat at, she placed her palms on the piece of furniture and leaned down closer to the blonde criminal.

"If you start talking, I'll unlock your cuffs and we can continue on from there," Sakura told him in a low tone as she looked up at him through thick black lashes. "Understand?"

The FBI agent could plainly see the way Deidara's eyes gazed at her slightly opened blouse and trailed up the pale skin of her neck before his eyes met her marvelously expressive jade orbs.

"You know agent Haruno," Deidara began as his eyes stared into her own. "I never got the chance to commend you on your marvelously improved acting tactics since the last time we saw each other, yeah."

Sakura smirked and let out a short laugh as she cocked her head to the side, letting her pink locks fall on the right side of her face. "Don't take it personally, Deidara," she told him with her sweet expression. "It's part of my job."

"Of course, _Sakura_, yeah," he replied quietly as he leaned back in his chair and placed his cuffed hands in his lap. "Now my dear, what is it that you want to know from me? Hm?"

Her emerald orbs stared intently into his before the words left her lips.

"Where is Sasori?"

As if Deidara knew exactly the situation at hand, his smirk widened dangerously in an almost predatory manner, "I've been waiting for this time to come, yeah."

"Deidara," Sakura addressed to the man with more authority in her feminine voice. "Where is Sasori?"

"If I recall back to the last time once more, you started with the control," his voice spoke lowly as his smirk remained. "But I was the one who had it all along, yeah."

_-Continue Flashback-_

_Sakura felt the bomber chuckle as he smirked at her._

"_I admire your determination, my dear, but in the end I'm the one in control, yeah," he whispered in her ear causing her to apply more force to the gun against his jaw. "Put down the gun, agent Haruno, unless you want this man to die here and now."_

"_Put the remote down, Deidara, unless _you_ want to die here and now," she shoot back to him, her eyes narrowing in determination._

_His smirk widened dangerously at her statement as the hand that held the remote moved from her neck to hold the remote close enough to her peripheral vision to make out its finest details on the device._

"_As long as you're here," his voice spoke lowly. "I'll die a happy man, yeah."_

_As if time began to move in slow motion, she watched the criminal that was standing so close to her flip the switch and activate the device._

"_No!" Sakura screamed as she pulled out of Deidara's grasp to run towards the man chained to the floor, just waiting to die._

_But before she could take another step towards the hostage she felt Deidara's hand lash out to grab her wrist and pull her back to him, in turn making her drop her gun._

"_No! Let me go you bastard!" she screamed as she tried her hardest to relinquish the blonde's grasp now on both of her wrists._

"_Sakura," he spoke firmly as she continued to struggle in his grip. "What do you notice that is not there to notice, yeah?"_

_The pinkette let his words sink in as she whipped her head over to the cowering man about one hundred feet away from them. He was still alive._

"_He's…"_

"_Still alive," he whispered before his expression turned predatory once more, "But not for long, yeah."_

'What am I going to do?'

"_He's on a timer," Sakura whispered in realization before her gazed whipped back to the man holding her as she began to struggle once more. "Deidara, deactivate it! _Please_ don't do this!"_

_"You have the power to save him, Sakura, yeah," he told her as he watched her gaze go from him to the man behind him and back again. "But how will you do it?"_

_Her breathing became labored once more as she really did begin to lose some of her control over her emotions and only thought about saving the man that was going to die because of her. _

'It's my fault; my fault,' _the pink haired agent told herself as she felt her ability to stand on her feet faltering. _'This man is going to die because of _me_.'

_Sakura finally couldn't hold her own weight as her emotions took over her and she slowly fell to her knees, with Deidara still holding her wrists as he also kneeled across form her panicked form. _

"_I don't," she paused to take in a few shaky breaths as she looked up into Deidara's azure orbs. "I can't…I…"_

_She suddenly felt her phone vibrate silently in her pocket, letting her know that backup had arrived. Even though the thought of help was comforting, she knew that the situation had escalated to a point that it would be dangerous for her comrades to enter the vicinity. But she had no way to tell them that._

"_How?" she asked quietly as if she knew he would realize what she was referring to. _

"_You'll think of something, my dear," he told her in a whisper as he moved his nose to graze against her own. "You always do, yeah."_

_Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the backup she had called for entering through a back door. She recognized Naruto immediately, who placed a finger to his lips signaling her to keep the blonde distracted while they tried to help the man._

_Sakura realized they had comprehended that the bomb was activated, but they seemed confident in their ability to deactivate it before it went off. She prayed that they would be successful._

"_You're doing this to hurt me," she told him in a low voice as one of his hands moved to the back of her neck to pull her even closer to him._

"_Never, my dear," he retorted as he brushed his thumb against the skin of her neck. "I never want to hurt you, yeah."_

"_Then stop the pain you're causing me now," she whispered as her head dipped lower. "Stop making me feel this way. I don't want to hurt this way anymore."_

_Before she could say anything else to plead with him, he closed the distance between their lips and kissed her passionately. _

_Sakura was shocked at first, as were the other agents in the warehouse, but then she realized that this was the distraction she needed to happen in order to keep Deidara focused on her, instead of what was going on behind him. _

_She returned the kiss in order to make Deidara believe she wanted it just as much as she did. His tongue brushed against her bottom lip and she immediately opened her mouth to give him full access._

_To Deidara, it seemed that she was fully invested in the kiss with her hands tangled in his hair and the passion she added to the exchange, but the whole time Sakura was watching her partners from the corner of her eye in order to make sure things were going smoothly. _

_There was suddenly a click signaling the bomb being deactivated. Deidara heard the small sound and pulled away from Sakura to see what it was, but she pulled his face back to meet her own in another heated kiss. _

_Deidara was so lost in his kiss with the object of his undying affection that he didn't realize the agent that snuck up behind him until the sound of a gun cocking rang in his left ear._

"_Deidara, you're under arrest for the murders of four different people and for previous committed drug related and terrorist crimes against society."_

_He felt his hands beginning removed from Sakura and cuffed behind her back as she just smirked at his utter surprise. _

_As Naruto pulled Deidara off the ground from his kneeling position and tightened his cuffs, Sakura grabbed Deidara by the back of his neck and moved her mouth next to his ear._

"_I told you I wouldn't let you."_

_Deidara smirked, "It's never over, my dear."_

_-End Flashback- _

It was Sakura's turn to smirk when the blonde spoke as she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"But look where you ended up, Deidara," she told him with a sweet smile as she began to walk around the table towards his seated position. "In prison."

Once she was behind him she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I think we can both agree that I won that battle."

She felt him let out a short laugh and she knew he was smirking as he spoke his next words. "This may be true, my dear, but how do you plan to win the next one, yeah?"

He tilted his head back enough so he could look into the green eyes he was so in love with, "Especially when you have so much against you, and we have the advantage?"

"And by we you mean your organization, correct?"

"Of course, yeah," he answered simply as she walked back around the table to sit in the chair opposite of him. "We will always have the upper hand. And if we don't, we'll find a way to regain it."

"Back to our matter at hand," she told the blonde as she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "Where is Sasori?"

Deidara continued to smirk as he leaned forward, "I think the better question to ask would be, where are the missing police officers and you little blonde friend, yeah?"

'_How does…'_

"How I know that little fact of the mater is irrelevant, my dear," he told her before she could ask the question he knew was nagging at her brain. "The real question is how I play into this little predicament, yeah."

Sakura looked at him blankly as her mind began to turn at the new development in the situation, "You guys planned this all along. But how did you know it was going to work out this way?"

"Don't assume that we don't just take the hand that's dealt to us, my dear, yeah," Deidara replied with a small smirk.

"They want you in exchange for the police officers and Ino," Sakura murmured in realization as she looked back up to Deidara in a tense gaze.

"For the police officers at least, yeah," Deidara told her as he held out his cuffed wrists towards her. "I think I've been quite cooperative, yeah. Now why don't you unlock me like you promised."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the blonde but did as she promised before sitting back down. Deidara rubbed his wrists then looked back up at the pinkette.

"What do you mean by at least the police officers?" she questioned the criminal. "What about Ino?"

Deidara's smirk returned to his features, "That much you'll have to take up with Sasori. Speaking of which, yeah, you should probably get yourself to a phone. He'll be trying to get in touch with you soon."

She quickly stood from her chair then shoot Deidara a smirk, "Always a pleasure, Deidara."

"Likewise, agent Haruno, yeah," he told her as he looked up the length of her body before gazing into her emerald orbs. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

She left without another word and quickly walked past Asuma, knowing he would handle Deidara, and back up to the office where her partners waited for her.

Once she arrived all the officers and her partners immediately turned to her appearance. She began walking towards Naruto and Sasuke until the sound of Genma's desk phone ringing caught her attention.

"Don't answer that, Genma," she quickly told the man as she jogged over to the phone before picking it up.

"You are a sick son of a bitch for using my best friend like that, Sasori," she spat venomously into the receiver.

The man on the other line chuckled deeply, _"It's nice to speak to you again too, doll face. Tell me, did you figure out what I want next?"_

"Where are we meeting?"

She knew Sasori was smirking on the other line as he spoke his next words, _"I knew I could rely on you, Sakura. We'll meet tonight. At the warehouse in which you last encountered my partner."_

"And what about Ino?" Sakura asked quickly, hoping he wouldn't hang up like he usually did.

"_What about her, doll face?"_

"What do you want in exchange for her?" she questioned once more. "Deidara mentioned that he would only be enough for the three officers. What about Ino?"

Sasori chuckled into the phone, _"You'll just have to see when you get here then, won't you?"_

And the line went dead.

"Fuck!" Sakura cursed as the whole room watched her slam the phone back onto the receiver.

"They want Deidara for our officers then?" Genma asked in a low tone as he remained seated in his desk chair staring at the phone, then up to Sakura.

"Yes," she answered as she clenched her fists. "But he wouldn't tell me what he wanted for Ino, and I'm beginning to fear for the worst."

"Meaning what, Sakura-chan?" her blonde partner asked as he moved next to her and placed a larger hand on her shoulder.

"Something the FBI is not going o want to give them."

* * *

><p>Whew! That was fun! I am seriously in love with writing this story right now. Once I start writing, I'm on a roll! I apologize for the wait, as I do fro the rest of my stories. Read my profile to see when something is going to be updated and why I am taking so long to update. And make sure you <strong>1.<strong> You take the poll on my profile if you haven't already. **2. **You send me love on my stories. **3. **Know that if you need a BETA reader, I'm here for ya. LOVE! :]

V


	3. Runin with Kings of Insanity

I'm in love with this story, it's true. I'm going to marry it and make wonderful story babies with it. Besides my weirdness, thank you to all those supporters of this story as well as all the wonderful reviewers that took time out of their day to send me compliments. Thanks to those wonderful people: Ketsueki no Kuki, damaredesu, Tsukiyo Akito, IvoryGlass, Black snake eyes, sapphireangel09, xSakuraWings, iloveSKITTLES, XionNight, himeko63, Shadow's Ruby, ..CHoMP., zeroandsix, music1462, Skye-Tear, MystereKitsune, Jorda96, Geniusly-Unique, Gin Kitsune 13, Cindy Medeiros, Sakura Fan 210,

DICLAIMER: As usual, I do not own Naruto or any other characters from the series nor do I own the FBI.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone Conversation"_

RECAP:

"_And what about Ino?" Sakura asked quickly, hoping he wouldn't hang up like he usually did._

"What about her, doll face?"

"_What do you want in exchange for her?" she questioned once more. "Deidara mentioned that he would only be enough for the three officers. What about Ino?"_

_Sasori chuckled into the phone,_ "You'll just have to see when you get here then, won't you?"

_And the line went dead._

"_Fuck!" Sakura cursed as the whole room watched her slam the phone back onto the receiver._

"_They want Deidara for our officers then?" Genma asked in a low tone as he remained seated in his desk chair staring at the phone, then up to Sakura._

"_Yes," she answered as she clenched her fists. "But he wouldn't tell me what he wanted for Ino, and I'm beginning to fear for the worst."_

"_Meaning what, Sakura-chan?" her blonde partner asked as he moved next to her and placed a larger hand on her shoulder. _

"_Something the FBI is not going o want to give them."_

* * *

><p>Ch.3 Run-in with Kings of Insanity<p>

As Sakura headed back to the FBI office followed by her two partners, her mind racing from the day's news and it didn't look like things were going to get any better in the next couple of hours. Naruto and Sasuke remained surprisingly silent as they walked behind their fellow agent, knowing she was having a hard enough time as it was.

'_I can't bring anyone in with me because that would put them in danger, but if I go in on my own I'm really putting myself at risk. To add to that I need to get the officers safely out of there, which brings me to Deidara who I have to bring in with me. Then I have to worry about getting Ino and what exactly they're going to want for her,' _Sakura contemplated to herself as she pushed open the doors to the office and walked over to her desk where she sat down with her head in her hands, massaging her temples and closing her eyes. _'Either way I'm making myself vulnerable in front of an unknown amount of high class criminals.'_

"Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice called out, breaking her from her musing and making her meet his gaze. "What can we do?"

The female agent let out a sigh as she ran a manicured hand through her pink locks and leaned back in her chair with her hand going back to rest on her brow line, covering her eyes. "I need my bullet proof vest, all the Akatsuki member's files that we have on record, keys to an Escalade, and a meeting with Tenten for a new gun."

"Dobe, get Kiba and have him help getting everything together. I'll go with Sakura to see Tenten," Sasuke told the blonde who nodded in response before going to do what he was told.

Sakura and Sasuke walked down the hallways until the reached the indoor FBI shooting range where they heard shots being fired. When they walked in they were greeted by the sight of a brunette female aiming for the head of her human spaced target. As she pulled the trigger the bullet went through the middle of the forehead causing the brunette to show a smirk of triumph at her aim.

"Nice shot," Sakura commented as she and Sasuke walked closer to the brunette.

The female looked up through her safety glasses and gave the two a smirk as she flipped the safety back on her gun and placed it down on the counter in front of her shooting booth.

The woman standing before Sakura was Tenten, the weapon expert of the Konoha FBI unit. She was tall and in shape with her chestnut hair styled in two buns. She was an expert in her field and knew everything there was to know about firearms and how they are made.

"Well thanks, Sakura," she told her with a smile as she pulled the glasses up to rest on her head as she began taking off the gloves she was wearing. "But I know you're not here just to compliment my shot. What can I help you with?"

"I need a new gun, Tenten," the pinkette told the woman before her as she gazed at the shelves of different guns that could be used in the indoor range. "My old one isn't quite firing the same as it used too and I need to have a new one for a case I'm working on."

"Alright, you're due for a new one anyway," Tenten replied as she put away the gun she was using and walked over to a shelf full of hand guns. "When do you need it by?"

"Tonight," Sakura answered simply as she picked up a gun and examined it. "I have to be on sight for an exchange."

"Tough luck, hun," the weapon master commented referring to what she had to get done as she pulled out a specific hang gun from the shelf. "I'll give you a 228 Sig and a spare mag to go with it. I assume you still have a holster?"

The pinkette pulled up her skirt slightly and undid the strap around her thigh, tossing the empty gun in the holster to Tenten. Catching it with ease, the expert removed the gun from the holster and inspected it.

"Yeah, you're way overdue for a replacement," the brunette commented as she examined the firearm before looking up at the two. "Did you guys need anything else?"

"We're all set," Sakura told her with a small smile before they turned to exit the room. "Thanks Ten."

"Not a problem!" the female called back as she waved them off the return to what she was doing before their arrival.

Sakura walked back over to her desk, placing the new gun a top the wood before she braced one hand on the furniture and started slipping off her pumps. "Go help Naruto and Kiba get all the necessary things together. I'm going to go talk things over with Kakashi," she told the Uchiha as she slipped of her second shoe and tossed them in her chair before she moved to walk away from her desk only to be stopped by Sasuke pulling her back by his new grip her wrist.

The pinkette turned back to the ebony haired male and stopped him before he could utter the words she knew he wanted to, "You can't go with me, and you already know that."

"But there's a chance that Itachi will be there," Sasuke's deep voice told her in attempts to reason. "You can't expect to go in there by yourself and be safe."

"No one ever said I was expecting to be safe," Sakura told Sasuke quietly as she placed her own hand over the hand that was holding her wrist. "I don't really see any other options though."

"Hn. Stop trying to do everything by yourself," he told her with annoyance as he grasped her chin in his other hand, looking into her deep verdant orbs. "Stop trying to shoulder the unit's problems all on your own."

"This isn't something I asked for Sasuke," she told him, eyes narrowing into his dark ones. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do."

The pink haired agent pulled out of her friends grasp and marched away barefoot to the chief's office. Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh as he closed his dark eyes and brush a hand through his hair, _'I know you didn't ask for it, but you still don't have to do it alone.'_

* * *

><p>After Sakura finished talking with Kakashi, who reluctantly agreed to trade the blonde bomb expert for the officers that were being held hostage, she went back over to her desk and noticed that everything she had asked for was gathered together. Grabbing the slightly smaller sized bullet proof vest as well as her bag, she walked away from her desk towards the FBI locker rooms.<p>

Sakura walked over to the sinks and tossed her bag and her vest on the counter next to her. Bracing both hands on the edge of the slab she leaned forwards and examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was slightly tousled from the amount of times she combed her fingers through it, her white dress shirt was beginning to show slight signs of wrinkles from her all day work, and light bags could be seen forming under her usually sparkling emerald eyes.

"I knew it was going to be a bad day," she mumbled under her breathed as she turned on the sink and splashed some of the cool water across her face in attempts to wake her up.

Turning off the sink after a few good splashes, she placed her hands back on the counter and tilted her head downward, letting the drops of water fall from her face and hit the smooth surface of the counter. Letting out a deep breath she grabbed for a near by towel and ran it across her face before looking back into the mirror. Knowing that she was going to face one of the toughest cases she had even had in her entire career, Sakura knew what she was being expected to do when she went to the warehouse.

She was being used as a wildcard, and not in a good way.

She knew that her unit would send back up around the area, but she also knew that Kakashi wasn't as oblivious as she would have liked him to be about the situation. Sakura knew he picked up on the fact that she was using herself to guarantee Ino's safety, as of how she still wasn't quite sure. It was obvious that the Akatsuki were specifically requesting her because they were infatuated with her, but she didn't know what to expect going into the situation.

Pulling her bag over to her, she pulled out some make-up and began to lightly work it across her face, attempting to relieve the worn out appearance. After making her face seem fresh once more she brushed through her pink tresses until she achieved a look that she found acceptable.

Some might ask why she was bothering to fix herself up if she was just going to be stressed out on the scene regardless. But since Sakura was the FBI's wild card when it came to the Akatsuki, she had to do whatever she could to help her situation. And if that meant amping up her look to keep the criminal's attention; so be it.

Hearing the light vibrations of her cell phone she picked it up, talking into the receiver, "This is Haruno."

"_Chief wants you to know that once you're ready, you can go get Deidara from his cell and head over to the location,"_ Shikamaru's voice spoke back on the other line.

"Right. Shika, be a dear and bring me my spare shirt hung up in the closet next to my cubicle."

"_Where are you?"_

"The locker room," she replied simply as she gazed at herself in the mirror once more.

"_You're out of your mind, woman. I'm not going in there,"_ the lazy analyst replied.

Sakura smiled at his quick response as she grabbed her things and moved over to her locker, placing them on the bench between the two rows and taking a seat. "Just do it, Shika. There's no one in here anyways. Besides, would you rather me just change next to my desk in front of the whole office?"

She heard the pineapple haired male on the other line let out a sigh before he agreed and hung up the phone, making her release a short laugh. Quickly unclipping the vest so that she could slip it on once she changed, she tugged down her skirt slight so it stopped at her hips in order to un-tuck her shirt before she began to undoing the buttons of it when she heard Shikamaru's foot steps entering the locker room.

"Over here, Shika," she called out as she continued undoing the buttons.

Seeing Sakura in mid-undress, Shikamaru blushed as he watched her nimble fingers unclasp every button until the white shirt parted enough for him to see the milky skin of her toned stomach and a glimpse of her elegant gray bra. He knew that Sakura wasn't shy when it came to her body, because she knew as well as everyone else did that she was in the best shape of her life.

Shikamaru also knew she wouldn't let anyone else watch her change, so he planned to take advantage of the situation. It wasn't everyday that the pinkette would let him watch nonchalantly as she took off her shirt. Besides, Sakura was all business at the moment and he knew that having him watch her change her top was the last thing on her mind.

Swallowing the small lump in his throat, the technical analyst tossed over the dark red shirt he was sent to retrieve as he watched her catch it with ease and shoot him one of her perfect smiles.

"Thanks, Shika," Sakura replied as she shrugged the white dress shirt down her arms, leaving her in her black skirt and satin gray bra as she slid her arms into the deep red sleeves of the blouse before looking back up at him as she began to clasp the new buttons. "So what's the plan?"

Breaking his gaze that was previously on her ample bust line, he looked up to meet her emerald eyes with a faint tint to his cheeks as he spoke. "Once you're done here you can go back and get Deidara, then someone will drive you over to the warehouse. We'll have a perimeter set up far enough away to not interfere, but I want you to wear your earpiece just to be safe as well as obviously have your gun."

Sakura gave him a nod as she finished clasping her shirt until she had two buttons left that remained open. Taking a hand to sweep her hair away that stuck in the color of her shirt, she grabbed her FBI issued vest and snapped it on both sides of her slim waist. "Who's taking me?"

"Most likely Neji," Shikamaru answered back as she grabbed her things and they walked back over to the main floor and back to her desk.

Propping her right leg up on her desk chair and hiking up her skirt slightly, she grabbed her gun holster and strapped it to her thigh sliding the gun in shortly after. Sakura and Shikamaru heard someone whistle as they both looked up to find many of the other agents gathering around her desk at that exact moment; Kiba being one with a large smirk on his face as he gazed up Sakura's flawless legs.

"Nice legs, sweetheart," he complimented with his goofy smirk as he, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shino, and Sai now stood around her desk.

Emerald eyes rolled as the pinkette took the earpiece Shikamaru was holding out to her. After placing it in her ear, she slipped on her slightly elevated shoes and turned to the rest of the group, "Ready?"

They all nodded as Kakashi joined the group. "Here's the plan. Neji, you'll be escorting Sakura and Deidara to the location. Once she is there you will return to the perimeter we discussed earlier where the rest of us will be set up at," the masked chief told the males in the room before he turned to face the pink haired female. "Sakura, you need to be cautious. The Akatsuki are not ones to be taken lightly, which I'm sure you already realize. But you also need to keep in mind that it may not just be Sasori. There is a high chance that there will be others there as well."

"I know, Kakashi," she replied sternly as she clipped her FBI badge onto her person.

"You also can't be reckless, Sakura," Kakashi retorted with his authoritative tone of voice. "I know your highest priority is keeping everyone, especially Ino, safe, but that doesn't mean you need to do any self sacrificing. I want you to come out of there alive."

"We all do," Sasuke's voice added in calmly as she glanced into his deep colored eyes noticing the slight worry held in the orbs.

"I'll be fine, guys," she told them as she began to leave. "Neji, make sure you grab the Akatsuki folders and put them in the car. I want to do a little light reading on the way there."

And with that comment, she was making her way back to the FBI police station where she was going to pick up her favorite bomb artist.

* * *

><p>Sakura burst through the doors of the FBI police station, her heels clicking on the tiled floors until she reached Genma's desk, stopping front of it placing both hands down on the edge of the furniture and successfully catching his attention before she spoke. "I need Deidara."<p>

Genma tilted his head up towards her, toothpick still dancing between his lips before he nodded and moved to get up, but paused when he heard the outburst of one of his officers.

"Is this really wise, chief?" a man with brown hair questioned in annoyance. "After it took us so long to finally track him down and capture him, we're just going to give him away to this…_pink_ haired girl? What is she possibly going to be able to do?" The fuming officer then turned his attention toward the female as she stared at him with a manicured brow raised and a delicate hand placed on her hip. "Who is to say that she isn't secretly working for that gang of criminals and just plans to hand over a member that we worked so hard to capture then join the group herself?"

"It's certainly not your place to say," Genma's voice spoke back to his subordinate as he stood from his chair moving to stand next to Sakura and loosely crossed his arms over his chest.

"Its fine, Genma," Sakura told the assistant police chief simply as she place a hand lightly on his arm. With a small smirk playing on her lips, she turned her attention to the outspoken officer. "I'm sorry. What was your name?"

The male opened his mouth to reply but was cut of by the pinkette who still had a smirk on her pink lips "Oh right. I don't know your name because it's not of any importance to me. And you know why that is?" she questioned, not giving him any time to answer as she continued. "Because I'm your _superior_, that's why. I have more important things to worry about then some douche bag, wanna be police officer and his petty and useless complaints. Some of those things I'm currently worrying about? Three of _your_ fellow officers and _my_ best friend which are in the hands of a criminal _I_ have encountered before. Not to mention, Deidara is only behind bars because_ I_ found him."

The rest of the officers in the room were smirking at the pinkette as she ripped the man apart. "Do you have any other _pointless_ comments or complaints to make or can I do my job?"

"…No."

"_Wonderful_," Sakura replied with a wider smirk as she clapped her hands together before turning back to Genma. "Be a dear and go get Deidara for me."

The assistant police chief just smirked before he exited the room and returned shortly after with Deidara in front of him with his hands cuffed behind his back. The blonde's face lit up when he noticed Sakura waiting for him.

"Hello again, Agent Haruno, yeah," he greeted as Genma moved him to stand next to the short form of the pinkette who returned his smile.

"Hello, Deidara. Planning on good behavior tonight?" she asked as she waved off Genma and placed a hand on Deidara's arm, leading him out to the Escalade that Neji was already waiting in.

The blonde criminal smirked as they reached the vehicle, "Only for you, Sakura-chan. But I can't help but ask, do you really think the bullet proof vest is necessary, yeah? It does nothing but hide your spectacular figure."

Sakura rolled her eyes and opened one of the back doors of the car and watched Deidara get in. She tried to close the door, but it was stopped by Deidara's foot. As she looked up she found a smirk gracing his features. "I only plan to behave if you're sitting back here with me, yeah."

"Fine," the agent replied as she let out a sigh and closed the door before moving to the other side and buckling herself in.

"Neji, did you bring those files?" she questioned as Neji pulled out of the station and began to drive to the location. The Hyuga gave her a nod before passing her the folders she had requested earlier.

Glancing out the corner of his sapphire eyes, Deidara smirked, "Brushing up on some reading, yeah?"

A small smirk appeared on her lips as she didn't remove her gaze from the files that she was now flipping through. "I have to remind myself of what I may be dealing with tonight," she spoke quietly as her green eyes finally looked up into his blue ones. "Unless you want to give me a heads up on whom I'm to be expecting."

The bomb artist's smirk remain, "Unfortunately that is not my information to give, yeah."

Sakura let out a small sigh as she turned back to the paper in her lap. As the car continuously approached their destination, the pink haired agent's nerves started to act up. The weight of responsibility on her shoulders was overwhelming knowing that the lives of four people, one of which was her best friend's, rested in her hands. Noticing that the warehouse could be seen from a distance, she let out a deep breath in attempts to calm her nerves.

Neji pulled the car to a stop in front of the worn down building and turned back to spare a glance at the pinkette. She glanced up at him through her dark lashes as she tucked the previously viewed files back into their folder and placed them on the seat next to her before exiting the right side of the vehicle. Sakura walked over to the other side of the car, hearing the sound of gravel crunch under the heels of her shoes.

Opening Deidara's door, she grasped his arm lightly as he slid gracefully out of the vehicle, letting her shut the door behind him. The pinkette glanced at the large building and took in a deep breath before releasing it and walking towards the run down structure.

"Sakura," she heard Neji's voice call out as he stepped out of the car and caught up to her. She saw his pale colored eyes holding a concerned emotion, and it was obvious enough that he was worried for her safety.

"I'll be fine, Neji," the pink haired agent told him as she continued her path to the storehouse. The Hyuga watched helplessly as she walked right into danger. And what made it worse was the fact that Deidara looked over his shoulder and flashed him a smirk before mouthing the words, 'We won't bite unless she wants us too, yeah.'

That comment alone was enough to make the Hyuga march back to the Escalade in frustration before he skidded away, leaving black tire marks on the cracked concrete.

* * *

><p>Sakura didn't know what to expect when she entered the front doors of the set up meeting place with Deidara right behind her. She had to ensure people's safety as well as her own while being in the presences of some of the most sought after criminals in the world.<p>

"Nervous, yeah?" Deidara asked as his arm brushed hers as they walked through the old site. She didn't answer as her eyes remained blankly focused on the next set of doors in front of them.

"You shouldn't be, Sakura. We would never harm you."

"You already have," she spoke barely loud enough for him to hear as the reached the doors she knew the missing police officers and her best friend were waiting behind. Placing her pale hand on the door she paused before taking a deep breath and pushing it open.

She was certainly not prepared for what was in that god forsaken place.

Her apple colored eyes immediately went to her blonde friend who was blindfolded and gagged as well as had her hands bound to the arms of a chair they put her in. She noticed the tear streaks down her face as well as the shaking that emitted from her slim figure. She then found the other officers in similar positions. The thing that she found most frightening about the situation was not the situation of her friend, or the officers. It was the fact that five other men were waiting for her. Five highly dangerous, semi-psychotic, blood lust filled criminals.

And they were all staring directly at her.

The FBI agent recognized them all instantly, but her eyes move directly over to Sasori who was sitting in a chair closest to Ino. His arms were crossed loosely over her chest while one of his legs was cross leisurely over the other. The things that irked her the most though were his lazy brown eyes staring intently into her own with flashes of amusement while his lips formed into a smirk.

"So nice of you to join us, agent Haruno," he greeted with voice the texture of satin.

"I would agree, but I'm not one for lying," Sakura replied casually with a hint of bite to her tone as she and Deidara walked close enough to be twenty feet from where Sasori was sitting.

"As feisty as ever aren't you, princess?" one of the members questioned with a smirk. Sakura didn't even need to look over to know who the person was. There was only one person that had ever given her that nickname.

"I told you to stop calling me that," the agent hissed as she whipped her gaze over towards the abnormally tall male. Kisame Hoshigaki was a well known criminal in Konoha not only for his crimes, but his unique appearance. He was rather tall, reaching past six foot five, had a blue hued skin tone, short spiked navy blue hair, and gill tattoos on his raised cheek bones.

Kisame had been part of a large homicide of his home town in his early twenties. He said it was to rebel against the government, but most people found that hard to believe. Kisame had been on the FBI's most wanted list ever since the incident, but was now active in the criminal world as a very successful hit man, which is where Sakura was first introduced to his brutal crimes.

"Careful fuck face," another member spoke as he walked up behind Ino's chair and placed his hands on the back of the furniture, causing the blonde's shaking to increase slightly. "She looks like she's about to fuckin' pounce."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she glance over to the other member who was much to close to her blonde friend for comfort. Hidan was one of the most feared criminals in Akatsuki due to the types of crimes he committed. He took part in a religion called Jashinism which is based off of the love of chaos and death. His religion requires him to make sacrifices to the god Jashin in order for him to keep living. One would think that Hidan's sacrifice would mainly consist of women since he could seduce the clothes off of any female he encountered with his looks; slicked back silver hair, bright fuchsia eyes, and a body to die for that he liked to show off in his always opened shirts. But no, Hidan sacrificed anyone from men, woman, and even children which is why his crimes were considered the most foul.

He was the one Sakura wanted to see behind bars or locked away in a padded room more than any of the others.

"I've brought Deidara here like you asked, Sasori. Now let me have my officers and my friend back," Sakura's voice spoke firmly as she ignored Hidan's last comment.

"I think that we should just keep them," another voice spoke as his fingers flipped through the wad of money he held in his hands before he looked up to meet his forest green eyes with Sakura's emerald ones. "I'm sure we could fetch a fair price as well as Deidara's return for these government tools."

"Unfortunately, _Kakuzu_," Sakura hissed as her eyes narrowed at the addressed man. "That was not part of the deal."

The man smirked at her defiance as he took a few steps closer to the rest of the group. Kakuzu was a tall man, rivaling Kisame in height as well as body mass. He had tanned skin covered in stitch marks from head to toe. He had dark shaggy hair that reached his chin as it hung carelessly around his features. She noticed the stitching at the ends of his smirk pulling at his features as he continued to look at her. He was more known for his money fraud and other investment scandals with the government as well as being a large factor in the drug scandals within the Akatsuki.

"Sakura's right, Kakuzu," the read headed Akatsuki member spoke up as he stood slowly from his previously seated position and took a few steps closer to her, making her grasp Deidara's arm. She didn't know whether she did it out of defense since the blonde was the hostage's ticket out, or if it was out of nerves.

Deidara's eyes glanced down at Sakura's shorter form with hints of concern in his azure eyes, knowing that she wouldn't notice his gaze.

Sakura knew what Sasori was capable of. After being the first one on the reported scene of a called in crime that they later found out was courtesy of the red head, Sakura was able to see up close what Sasori was really proficient in. His master plan in life was to make people into his type of art, which was the art of marionettes and puppetry. By turning human being's bodies into those of puppets that he could control, Sasori was making human beings fulfill the 'purpose of beauty' they were given in life. The thought made her shutter.

"But as I recall, doll face, we didn't agree to give you your dear friend with the return of Deidara," Sasori's voice told her as he stopped ten feet away from her, his smirk still prominent.

"What do you want then?"

The criminals glance at each other, smirking at her curiosity.

"For starters, _Sakura_," the last voice in the room spoke as the male moved closer to where the red head was standing. "You can remove that vest you're wearing. You should know by now that we never have any intentions to hurt you, and it also does no justice for your stunning figure."

Sakura's green eyes flickered with annoyance towards the voice as she glanced over at his form. Standing next to Sasori was none other than her partner's brother, Itachi Uchiha. He stood there with his arrogance radiating from his posture to the smirk he wore across his features. Sakura would admit that Itachi could have joined her in a modeling career track with his god-like looks, but hiring a criminal was probably less than ideal. His long dark hair was tied off at the nape of his neck with a few shorter pieces falling around his recognizable Uchiha eyes and the scars that ran down from his tear ducts.

"Uchiha," Sakura hissed out in acknowledgment as their eyes remained attached to each other. "I should have figured you'd be here since you knew it would make your brother even more irritated knowing he can't be here as well."

Itachi's smirk visibly widened at her comment as he held out a hand towards her, still remaining the same distance away, "Your vest, Sakura-_chan_."

The pinkette narrowed her eyes and kept them glue to Itachi as see ripped the clips apart on the sides of her vest and pulled the issued object over her head. Not bothering to take the ten steps it took to reach the Uchiha, she tossed her vest which he caught easily.

Hidan whistled in the background as the Akatsuki members took the opportunity to glance up and down her tightly sculpted figure. Sakura shot him a glare out of the corner over her eye before she turned her attention back to the red head that seemed to be running the operation.

"Anything else?" the pinkette question as she placed on hand on her hip.

Sasori smirked as he noticed the outline of her weapon on her thigh through the material of her tight black skirt. His hazel eyes trailed up from her thighs back to her emerald orbs, "You're gun as well, doll face."

The FBI agent bit the inside of her cheek to contain her frustration as she moved her pale finger tips to the end of her skirt before Itachi's movement towards her made her halt all activity. As he continued closer, smirk still gracing his lips, Sakura stood up straight, muscles clearly tensing at his approach.

He moved to stand directly in front of Sakura, as she stood in a tens silence, keeping her eyes on him as he stood a head taller than her. He moved his head to the left side of her own to whisper in her ear. "I'll get it since I don't want a gun thrown in my general direction."

Before she could protest, she felt one of his hands on the small of her back keep her balance while the other hand held the underside of her right thigh and slid her leg up so that her inner thigh brush his hip. Her skirt rose up her thighs slightly in this process, but the hand still on her leg pushed the material up further, tracing his finger tips over her milky skin along the way. Sakura's emerald eyes showed her nervousness as they gazed back into his cocky dark orbs. A blush rose to her cheeks at the intimate contact with her leg as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. When his hand reached the gun, he slowly pulled it out of the holster and moved her leg back down to the ground in an unhurried fashion, loving the feel of her body brushing against his own.

Giving her one last look, Itachi turned away with his cocky demeanor and returned to his spot next to Sasori. Letting out a frustrated breath, Sakura looked into Sasori's eyes once more, "Fair enough?"

Her ear perked at the sound of Deidara moving to whisper in her ear, "Might want to hand over the tazer as well, yeah."

The pinkette turned her head slightly to glance at Deidara, "You always have to ruin all my fun."

Deidara chuckled as she tugged her tazer out from her hiding place and tossed it over to Sasori. Before she spoke again, her patience wearing thin, "I brought you Deidara, took off my shield, and gave you all my weapons. Now give me the officers and Ino."

"Shit. So that's what the bitch's name is?" Hidan Questioned as he moved closer behind Ino and placed his hands on her shoulders firmly, causing the blonde to flinch. "She wouldn't fucking tell me."

"Get your ungodly hands off her, _Hidan, _before I _rip_ them _off_ you're body," Sakura spat as her eyes narrowed dangerously at the fuchsia eyed male.

"So aggressive, doll face," Sasori chided as Hidan just smirk sadistically at her comment. The red head nodded over to Kisame who then moved to stand next to Sakura with a sharky smile across his lips as he held his hand gun.

"Take off his hand-cuffs for me, would ya princess?"

Sakura glared at the blue skinned man as she took out the keys to Deidara's cuff and unlocked the contraptions from his wrists. Watching the metal clatter to the floor, Deidara rubbed his wrists as watched as Kisame moved behind Sakura and grabbed her left shoulder, pulling her back to stand directly in front of him; his hand never leaving her shoulder as he kept her to himself.

Sasori nodded towards the other members, making them move over to the FBI police officers. The removed their gags as well as their blindfolds. When they opened their eyes the first thing the saw was Sakura, making hope rise up in their features. The one she recognized as Konohamaru whispered her name in relief and she forced herself to put on a small smile on his behalf.

"We'll escort them out there, along with yourself," Sasori began to explain to the pinkette. "Don't think that we won't hesitate to shoot them if there is any interference from your fellow FBI members, doll face. I have no reason to care for these men's lives now that Deidara is back in our hands."

"What about Ino?" Sakura asked; her panic beginning to ebbing into her words with each passing second.

"She wasn't part of the deal, doll face. You know that."

"Please," Sakura's meek voice pleaded as her head lowered slightly, hiding her desperate eyes from her enemies. "Let her go too. Take me instead. I'll…I'll stay here with all of you, just _please_…let her go."

"Agent Haruno, you can't be serious!" one of the officers yelled before a harsh look from Itachi shut him up instantly.

"That's a high price you're offering, Agent Haruno," Kakuzu's voice spoke up from his position next to one of the seated officers. "Are you sure it's something you're willing to give up? Your freedom? Your life? Just for the safety of one human being?"

"Are you really going to ask such a pointless question?" Sakura's voice questioned quietly as she continued to look down at the floor as she felt Kisame pull her back further so she could feel his chest grazing her back.

The money obsessed member let out a short laugh as he glance over at the pinkette who wouldn't meet his eyes, "You're right. It's a meaningless inquiry."

"We agree to your terms, _Sakura_," Sasori's voice interjected, smirk evident in his words. "But we will still not hesitate to shoot your officers, or your friend, if things are not progressing in our favor."

"Fine," Sakura spat as she clenched her fist before she looked up to meet the puppet lover's triumphant eyes. "Can…can I talk to her?"

Sasori gracefully guided his hand in Ino's direction, inviting her over into their territory. Sakura took slow, cautious steps towards her blonde friend with Kisame trailing closely behind her the whole way. Once she was in front of Ino, she watched as Hidan ripped off the blind fold and the gag from Ino's face. The blonde kept her eyes clenched at the sudden light invading her eyes be for she opened them slightly, the relief evident over her features as she gazed upon her pink haired friend.

"Sakura," Ino's unsteady voice whispered as tears rimmed her dark blue orbs once more. "You came for me."

"Of course I did you stupid pig," Sakura told her friend, giving a small smile as she crouched down and placed her hands on Ino's knees as a sign of reassuring. Tears of her own rimmed the pinkette's eyes as she look at her best friend. "I would never let anything happen to you. Who would drag me out shopping if you weren't around?"

Ino let out a choked laugh as she dared to look around at the place she was in and the dangerous people that were standing around her and her friend. The blonde swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat before her nervous words met Sakura's ears. "Sakura, can we leave now?"

Sakura's eyes sadden at her words, "_You_ get to leave now, Ino."

"What about _you_?" Ino asked desperately as she tried pulling at the bindings keeping her wrists to the arms of the chair she was seated in. "You're coming with me, aren't you?"

"Sakura has selflessly given herself up for your safety," Sasori's voice answered as he took a few steps closer to the two women. "Isn't that right, doll face?"

"That's insane, Sakura!" Ino yelled to her friend as she tried to wiggle free from her restraints once more. "Why would you do something so _stupid_? Think about yourself, about Sasuke, Naruto and everyone else back in the unit, about your family! What are you _thinking_?"

"Shit, can I put the fucking gag back on? This bitch is fucking annoying," Hidan complained with his arms crossed over his chest as he still remained behind the panicked blonde.

"Now you know how we feel about you, yeah," Deidara retorted.

"Fuck off, blondie!" the Jashinist replied, sending the member a heated glare. "This is exactly what I didn't fucking miss with your god damn capture; you're pussy ass voice!"

Deidara just let out a short chuckle as he turned his attention to Sasori who was nodding towards the officers. Kakuzu, Itachi, and Kisame all moved to stand behind the FBI police officers while Hidan remained behind Ino and Sasori moved towards Sakura. The gang members removed the wrist bindings from the hostages and stood them up, pointing the barrels of their weapons to the FBI member's temples.

"Once we get outside, walk across the street and make the first right. That's where the vehicle to take you back will be waiting," Sakura told the government members.

She noticed the police officers, as well as Ino, sending her nervous glances most likely due to the weapons pointed to their heads, but Sakura knew that there was nothing else she could do for the time being. The pinkette suddenly felt her waist being encircled as the cool barrel of Sasori's gun met her own temple. The red head ran his nose up Sakura's pale neck until is mouth reached her ear. His tongue licked the shell, causing the pink haired agent to shiver.

"Please cooperate with me, doll face," Sasori purred in her ear as she watched the other Akatsuki members move closer towards the exit of the run down warehouse. Sakura felt Sasori's artistic fingers running meaningless patterns in her side as his lips formed a smirk in her smooth skin. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you or your friends because of a stupid mistake."

The agent whimpered as his hold on her waist tightened painfully and he moved his mouth to nip at her neck before he directed her to the door. Sasori led the group with Deidara at his side as they opened the doors letting the cool night air wisp across their skin. Sakura looked up to the tops of the buildings across from the warehouse and found FBI units positioned to shoot if the situation deemed it necessary. Once they were all in front of the warehouse, Sasori nodded towards Kisame who released the first officer who in response scurried to safety as quick as possible. The rest of the officers were released in the same process but when they reached Ino she stopped and gave Sakura a look that she couldn't even begin to read.

"_Go_ Ino," Sakura whispered loud enough for the blonde to hear. Sasori consciously tightened his grip around Sakura as he pushed the barrel of the gun harder against her skin causing her to wince. The other Akatsuki members began to step closer to Sasori and Sakura. "I'll be fine."

Ino mouthed the word's 'I'm sorry' before she began cross the street to safety. Sakura swallowed the new lump that had formed in her throat as the situation she was now in, but didn't have time to think as she saw one of the roof top officers take aim at Itachi's form. The older Uchiha took noticed at pointed his gun towards the blonde that had yet to make it completely to safety.

'_If that bullet comes toward him, he'll shoot Ino!'_

"No!" Sakura screamed as she struggled out of Sasori's grasp and over to Itachi just in time to push him out of the way of the bullet that was heading straight for him. Sakura felt the moment crawl in slow motion as she pushed Itachi's form to the side and felt the bullet cut into the outer part of her arm.

Sakura stumbled to the ground, landing on her back and gasping in pain. Her opposite hand clamped over the fresh wound as the crimson liquid began to flow quickly out onto her hand and arm.

"Sakura!" Deidara's voice called out as the gang members huddled around her fallen form.

"Why would you do something so _stupid_?" Itachi asked firmly as he looked down at her now injured limb as her lifter her slightly to lean against his chest.

Sakura let out a choked laugh as she winced at the increasing pain in her arm, "Because you were going to shoot her. And that's not happening on my watch."

The FBI agent let out another pain noise as Kakuzu lifter her injured limb and tor off the offending sleeve that covered it. "She's losing a lot of blood too quickly. If we want her to stay alive, she needs to be taken to a hospital which is something we are not capable of doing for her."

Sakura's vision was blurring and she began to see two of every member that was crowded over her form. Her breathing became shallower by the second as the powerful need to sleep crept into her senses. "Don't go to sleep you hot piece of ass, you fucking hear me?" Hidan told her.

Sakura's lips quirked to one side as her eyes continued to falter in staying open as she let out a dry laugh, "I always win in the end, you bastards."

"You call this winning, princess?"

The pinkette didn't answer as her eyes fell closed and the voices around her fell upon deft ears.

"Sakura!"

"Sakura!

"_Sakura!"_

* * *

><p>Shit's getting intense. Yes, I'm being evil and leaving you with a cliff hanger. How do you think the next chapter is going to start out? I'll let you know now that she's not going to die, so scratch that possibility. SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS: <strong>1. <strong>Take my poll if you haven't already. **2.** Take a look at my other stories and show me some love! **3.** If you want a BETA reader, I'm open for business. **4. **Most importantly, don't forget to **READ** and **REVIEW**! Love!

V


	4. Unappealing Recovery

So glad so many people are in love with this story as much as I am. I feel like a bad parent because I am currently favoring this story than my other children/stories. Thank you to those wonderful people: Xx4ying4yang4xX, AnimaAmore, MystereKitsune, sakura-cherrytree, SakuraHarunoxBleach, Shadow's Ruby, curlyhair37, sapphireangel09, Kraziibunny11, Black snake eyes, xSakuraWings, naïve-toots, killerninjaz, Cindy Medeiros, XionNight, k.p.l, pein's naughty girl, Ketsueki no Kuki, sheINSPIRED, Skye-Tear, music1462, Yeng-chan, . .CHoMP., Weasel-Scarecrow Luvrs, Vesper Chan, Jasper's little angel, no1ucanc, Sinister Blossom, Rawrgoesdadino, thegirlofmanymoods, BetterThanAHeartAttack, Kireicomplex, IndigoChild21, yoyoyo, The Glass White Queen, TheEmoChick, Under the Darkest Shadow, Saiyuri Haruno, DeliciousXDistractions, keraii, CrimsonVampireFreak, Niixxy, carsly, Jashinista, CrazySakuraHarunoXD, thedoggydog12, Don' . .Me., Kireicomplex,

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone Conversation"_

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto.

RECAP:

"_Why would you do something so _stupid_?" Itachi asked firmly as he looked down at her now injured limb as he lifted her slightly to lean against his chest._

_Sakura let out a choked laugh as she winced at the increasing pain in her arm, "Because you were going to shoot her. And that's not happening on my watch."_

_The FBI agent let out another pained noise as Kakuzu lifter her injured limb and tore off the offending sleeve that covered it. "She's losing a lot of blood too quickly. If we want her to stay alive, she needs to be taken to a hospital which is something we are not capable of doing for her."_

_Sakura's vision was blurring and she began to see two of every member that was crowded over her form. Her breathing became shallower by the second as the powerful need to sleep crept into her senses. "Don't go to sleep you hot piece of ass, you fucking hear me?" Hidan told her. _

_Sakura's lips quirked to one side as her eyes continued to falter in staying open as she let out a dry laugh, "I always win in the end, you bastards."_

"_You call this winning, princess?" _

_The pinkette didn't answer as her eyes fell closed and the voices around her fell upon deft ears._

"_Sakura!"_

"_Sakura!_

"Sakura!"

* * *

><p>Ch.4 Unappealing Recovery<p>

"How's she doing baa-chan?" Naruto questioned towards a doctor, as his cerulean eyes gazed sympathetically at his pink haired partner where she lay in her hospital bed. The constant sounds of the life machines beeping in the background.

"I told you to stop calling me that you insult child," the doctor replied as she slid one of her blonde pigtails over her shoulder as her hazel eyes glared at the blonde agent. "I swear you're too stupid to learn."

"Harsh words, baa-chan. Harsh words," Naruto replied quietly as she sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde's actions.

"Regarding Sakura, she'll be fine. She isn't one to be taken lightly," the woman told the group in the hospital room who watched their unconscious team member as her chest rose with every breath. "The bullet grazed the side of her arm, but it was nothing too severe. She has quite a few stitches and needs to take it easy until the stitches are ready to come out."

She turned to the FBI chief and gave him a serious look, "That means no major field work. She may not like it, but it's what has to be done if she is to have a full recovery. Having her overwork herself will only make her recovery period longer."

A small groan was heard from the hospital bed as Sakura's quiet voice followed. "What do you mean I can't work?"

"Sakura-chan!"

"I mean exactly what I say, Sakura," Tsunade told the pink haired agent with a small smile as she tucked her clipboard under her arm. "You can't work again until your arm has fully healed."

"No work at all?" Sakura retorted in a disbelieving whine.

Kakashi smirked from his corner of the room at his prized agent as she pouted in her hospital bed, "I have some papers you can file, if you're really desperate for something to do."

Sakura let out a small snort at his sarcastic comment before turning back to the blonde doctor, "How long 'til I can get these stitches taken out of me?"

"Ten to fourteen days. But you have to wear a sling until then," the woman replied.

Sakura let out another distasteful groan as she looked down at her arm that rested in the dark blue sling that hung around her neck, "There is _nothing_ sexy about a sling."

"You're sexy no matter what, Sakura," Kiba interjected with a smirk.

Sakura just rolled her eyes as Tsunade smiled and walked towards the door. "You're free to leave whenever you're ready. I'll leave your discharge papers with the nurse."

"Thank you, Tsunade."

"You're welcome. Just remember to take it easy," she replied. "I don't want to see you back in here for a long time after you get those stitches out."

A smile tugged at the pinkette's lips as the busty blonde exited the room. She then turned her attention to her FBI team members that were scattered through out the sanitary white room.

"How are you feeling, Sakura?" Neji asked her from his position at the end of her bed.

"I'm fine," she told him as she noticed the concern lacing the eyes of the rest of the males in the room as well. "Really you guys, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad."

"We're really sorry about what happened, Sakura-chan," Naruto told her as he sat down in the chair placed next to her bedside. "I wish I could have been there to protect you."

"You can't protect me from everything, Naruto. None of you can. "

A pregnant pause filled the room as so many words that wanted to be said, couldn't because their speakers could find the will to speak them. Finally, Kakashi spoke up and broke the silence. "I'm sorry I put you into such a dangerous situation, Sakura. I should have known that something like this could have happened. I just wasn't thinking straight."

"For starters, chief, I'm the one who made you let me go," Sakura replied as she looked at her boss. "And you don't have to beat yourself up over the fact that I got hurt. It's in my job description under what is to be expected, so you can't blame yourself for anything that did happen or will happen. There was no way any of us could have known that there were going to be five other Akatsuki members waiting for me in that warehouse."

"We should have taken more precautions," Shikamaru added quietly from his position next to her bed.

"Hey," she called out softly as she grasped his hand in her uninjured one and gave him one of her sweet smiles. "Stop dwelling on it. I'm alive with no major injuries, Ino and the other police officers are safe as well as uninjured, and no one was killed when they easily could have been."

The males in the room were silent once more as the pinkette let out a deep sigh before speaking up, "So where are we at now with the current situation?"

Sasuke let out a short laugh, "You never stop working, do you?"

Sakura smile widely at the Uchiha, "Would you really expect anything less from me?"

The males smirked at the truth behind the agent's words as Kakashi moved to stand next to Neji at the end of her bed, "What do you remember?"

"I remember being shot, then I was on the ground with all of them around me, then I blacked out," she told them as she closed her eyes and replayed the events of the previous night in her mind.

"_Why would you do something so _stupid_?"_

"_She needs to be taken to a hospital which is something we are not capable of doing for her."_

"_Don't go to sleep you hot piece of ass, you fucking hear me?"_

"_Sakura!"_

She opened her apple eyes and looked up into her boss's eyes, "What happened after I fell unconscious?"

"They got away," Sasuke replied stiffly. "They got away _again_."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything else," Sakura spoke up as she glanced around the room. "Do we have any leads as to where they may have gone?"

"No," Sai replied. "They left behind no trail or hints to where they are or what they may plan to do next."

"I believe it's safe to say that the Akatsuki will stay on the down low for a while," Shikamaru explained to the group as he crossed his arms over his chest. "They are the top case with law enforcement right now, so for them to stay hidden they need to make sure they leave behind a minimal amount of footprints regarding their illicit activities. They may even try to hide behind others scandals so that they can remain active in the crime world."

"I'm pretty sure that they will continue to remain in the Konoha area," Sakura added as she pushed herself into a sitting position in her hospital bed.

"Well, for the time being we will let them lay low because if the Akatsuki doesn't want to be found, they won't be found," Kakashi told the group as he crossed his arms over his chest and let out a sigh. "For now we need to focus on finding the next person on the most wanted list."

"And who would that be?" Naruto asked.

"Orochimaru."

* * *

><p>"You're absolutely positive that your source is reliable?" the red headed man questioned.<p>

"Of course," a blonde woman replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and sat on the corner of the male's desk. "I would never give you this information if I found the source to be unreliable."

The man leaned back in his seat and followed the woman's actions of crossing his arms over his chiseled chest. "I know, Temari," he replied in his deep velvet voice before he met the blonde's eyes with his jade ones. "Call the Konoha unit and tell them what we know."

He stood form his chair and picked up a manila folder from his desk before looking back at his sister. "Tell them I want them over here as soon as possible, and request that Sakura Haruno be part of the team that they assemble."

"Yes, Gaara," Temari replied as she went to make the necessary calls.

* * *

><p>The next morning when Sakura woke up to the familiarity of her own home she let out a thankful sigh that she was here instead of in the white washed walls of the Konoha hospital. As she carefully maneuvered herself out of her full sized bed, minding her injured arm, she moved to get ready for the day by showering then dressing for work.<p>

Her routine took her longer than usual, but she was eventually ready and dressed in her black pants and light green button up shirt. Since she was told not to drive, she waited outside of her house for her ride to come and pick her up.

'_I hate my life right now,' _she thought to herself as she noticed a familiar black escalade pulling up into her driveway and one of her partners stepping out of the driver's side door.

"Good morning, Sakura," Sai's unemotional voice greeted her as did his smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"Not too bad, Sai," she replied with a small smile as she moved to slide into the passenger's seat while the black haired boy held the door open for her. Once she was in, he shut the door and drove down to the Konoha office.

When they arrive, Sai helped the pinkette out of the car as they made their way straight to Kakashi's office where everyone else was already waiting.

"Good morning, everyone," the chief began as he ran a hand through his silver locks and stood from his desk chair and moved to lean on the front of his desk. "This morning I received a rather interesting phone call from the Suna unit. They told me that they received a call from one of their sources regarding some of Orochimaru's henchmen being seen over in their area. Gaara requested a team over to Suna as soon as possible."

"Did he request anyone is particular?" Neji asked.

"He requested Naruto and Sakura," Kakashi replied as he looked towards the pink haired female. "But with your injury, and instruction from Tsunade to not participate in any field work, I feel as though I shouldn't send you."

"Oh c'mon, Kakashi!" Sakura complained as she threw her uninjured arm up in the air in frustration. "This is my case! _My_ case! I've been working on it for the past year and a half and now that there's a break in the case. You can't just expect me to stay behind and do nothing when I know just about everything there is to know about this case."

Shikamaru smirked at Sakura's outburst as well as her many valid points, "She makes an excellent point, chief."

"Although she makes a point, Shikamaru, would you like to be the one to tell Tsunade that she has gone against her medical instruction?" Kakashi asked with a brow raised in the tech expert's direction.

Shikamaru let out a short chuckle as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dark trousers, "Not really. Much too troublesome for my tastes."

"I promise I won't do any major fieldwork that could open my stitches," she told the chief with pleading emerald eyes. "Please, Kakashi. Let me go to Suna."

The FBI chief let out a long sigh as he ran a hand through his silver tresses once more. "Alright, Sakura. You can go." A large smile spread across the pinkette's face as he continued to talk. "But you have to be careful. I'll be telling Gaara about your recent incident and what Tsunade told me."

"Who else will be going besides me and Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he moved to stand next to the female and sling an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"I'll be sending Sasuke and Kiba with you," Kakashi told the blonde as the two addressed agents replied with a nod. The chief then turned to Shikamaru. "You are more than welcome to go on site with them, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to be with your own computer systems or use those that you are unfamiliar with."

"I'll go," the brunette told the chief as he leaned back onto the nearest wall. "Their systems could use an update anyway."

"Alright. I'm not sure how long you'll be there exactly, but I've arrange a hotel for you all to stay at," the older man told the group as he handed Sasuke the information. "I can't guarantee a whole lot of progress in the case, but hopefully you can gain more insight than we have right now. For those of you going to Suna, go back to your places of residence and pack what ever you'll need for your trip."

The five agents nodded.

"The rest of you start gathering together all the files that relate to this case so that we can keep them as references for your fellow agents. Shino, you will take Sakura back home to get her things. Everyone understood?"

The rest of the agents nodded as Kakashi then dismissed them to go do as they were instructed. Once everyone left the room, the FBI chief pulled out his familiar orange book and picked up where he last left off.

After everyone had returned from grabbing what they needed from their homes, the team loaded everything into one of the familiar FBI Escalades and took what files they needed with them.

"How long is the drive to Suna again?" Naruto asked as he shut the tall trunk of the vehicle.

"About three hours," Shikamaru replied as he placed the last of his tech equipment in the back seat then taking a seat and buckling himself in.

"I don't know about you guys, but I plan on catching some Z's," Sakura announced as moved to sit in the second row of seats.

"Ditto," Kiba added as he took the seat next to her in the middle row.

"You guys are seriously going to leave me up from with Sasuke-teme?" Naruto whined as he moved to sit in the passenger seat as Sasuke moved around to the driver's side with a blank look on his handsome face. "He can't entertain me if he's driving, and he's really not entertaining to begin with!"

"Shut up, dobe."

"This is going to be a _wonderful_ car ride," Sakura mumbled as everyone shut their doors and Sasuke started their three hour car ride to their next destination.

"Suna, here we come!" Naruto declared.

* * *

><p>After the three hour car ride, and Naruto obnoxious conversations then his persistently loud snoring, the team arrived in Suna and parked outside their unit's office.<p>

"Man, I forgot that it was warmer here than in Konoha," Kiba murmured as he moved to open the trunk of the Escalade before turning to Sakura and shooting her a suggestive smile. "I hope you brought some shorts to wear these next couple days."

Sakura snorted as she rolled her eyes and took Sasuke's helping hand out of the car, "The only time you'll be seeing my legs is in your dreams, Kiba."

The brunette let out a chuckle as he grabbed the briefcase containing the files they needed and shut the trunk before he began to make his way to the entrance of the Suna office.

Shikamaru let out a sigh as he grabbed his two cases from the back and followed Kiba's lead, "He is going to be troublesome this entire trip."

Sakura let out a light laugh as the rest of them walked to the building and opened the front door. "Of course he is, Shika," Sakura retorted as she began to walk through the sister office and gain attention from the male officers and agents. "He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't."

"Is that _the_ Sakura Haruno I see walking into _my_ office?" a voice asked. "I must have died and gone to heaven, or I'm having a _very_ good dream."

Sakura let out a light laugh as she saw a familiar brunette walking in her direction. "I see your brother has demoted you to welcoming committee, Kankuro."

Kankuro Subaku was one of the top FBI agents in the Suna district. The eldest Subaku brother was know for his laid back personality in the office and his fierce determination when it came to a case. He was always noticeable when he showed up on scene during a case because he was the only one wearing purple face paint. Sakura had told him many times before that he would look much better without it, but he believes it makes him an individual. He was right about that much.

The addressed man let out a laugh as he walked up to the pinkette and pulled her into a side hug to mind her arm. "Nah," he retorted as he began to lead the group to the back offices. "When I heard you were coming, I volunteered. But I see you got scratched up since the last time I saw you. What happened, babe?"

"Oh, nothing," she began as they reached the last office. "Just got shot, it's not a big deal though-"

"You got shot?" he exclaimed as he pulled slightly away from her and glanced down at her injured limb. "Who the fuck shot you?"

Sakura let out a sigh as she pulled away from Kankuro and pulled to door in front of her open. "Like I said; not a big deal. Ask your brother if you want to know what happened. Kakashi was supposed to tell him the whole story."

"Don't give him a reason to be more obnoxious, Sakura," the red head sitting at the desk told her, his deep voice sounding refreshing to her ears. "I don't need him to be more annoying than he already is."

Sakura let out a soft giggle at the male's comment as she moved to gracefully sit down in one of the chairs placed in front of his. "Sorry, Gaara," she apologized with a small smile still playing on her features as her emerald eyes gazed into his jade ones. "But you know he always gets extra annoying for you when I'm here."

"I suppose I can deal with it," he replied with a small smirk as he leaned back in his chair. The red head glanced around the room, acknowledging all the male agents from Konoha before turning back to Sakura. "How are you feeling?"

Gaara was an amazing person in Sakura's opinion. He gained the position of chief of the Suna FBI unit within the past year and the force at taken a great leap in their efficiency as well as their success rate while working on cases they recieve. He had a firm hand when dealing with his forces, which was something the pinkette really admired in him. His looks most likely helped him in that area as well. At first glance, Gaara Subaku appears to be one of the most intimidating people you'll ever meet, with his fire red hair, stern jade eyes, and chiseled build. But one you got to know him, he was so much calmer and professional than one could have first expect. It probably was also a threat to his forces that he was good looking as well as powerful.

A double threat, as Sakura called him.

"I'm fine, but we're not here to talk about me," she answered as she adjusted her arm in her dark blue sling. "Let's here what information you have about this Orochimaru case."

Gaara gave a quick nod as he tossed a folder near the end of the desk that she was closest to. Sakura picked it up and began to look through process pictures that she had yet to see as Gaara began to explain.

"Yesterday one of our sources captured those pictures of one of Orochimaru's known henchmen outside one of the clubs in Suna," Gaara began as he glanced towards to the photos in Sakura's hands before looking back up at the male agents. "This is the first sighting of any of his lackeys in the past six months."

"Do you think there is a possibility that it's a set up for us?" Sasuke asked as he leaned against one of the walls in Gaara's office.

"That's something we have to consider," the Suna chief replied. "We can never be too careful with the sound gang."

"What do you think they're doing in Suna?" Sakura questioned quietly as she flipped to the next picture in her hands.

"They're probably looking for more soulless recruits to join their ranks," Naruto scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"So what's your plan?" Shikamaru questioned.

"I would like you to install a video camera outside of the club they were spotted at," Gaara explained as he clasped his hands together in front of his mouth. "I don't want it noticeable, but I want to have video proof of all the people going in and out of that club."

"Don't you think the club already has a camera placed outside?" Kiba questioned.

"They do, but they don't want to have any connection to this case or the FBI for that matter," Gaara answered with evident distaste behind his words. "That's why I'd like us to have one of our own. Once we get that settled, I want some of you and my own agents to go undercover to see what information we can find out."

"When can we get started?" Naruto asked with a goofy smile gracing his features.

"Right now."

* * *

><p>"Have we confirmed their location?"<p>

"Yes," a voice answered. "It seems they have arrived in Suna just this afternoon."

"Perfect," another voice replied. "Go and tell this information to Orochimaru. He has been waiting to here something like this for quite some time now."

"Yes, sir."

"So what do we do now, Kimimaro?"

"We'll let things take their destined course," the man replied as he fiddled with a pen between his fingers. "It's only a matter of time before they come looking for us in places that aren't safe for them."

The other person let out a chuckle, "Should we give them a show then?"

"I believe they deserve one."

The man smiled viciously, "I'll go cook up some mayhem then."

"Just this once; try to keep the mess to a minimum," Kimimaro instructed to the man. "I don't want to chase to spoil too quickly."

"Sure thing," the man replied as he exited the dark room with his wide grin.

"I'll be seeing you soon, _Sakura_…"

* * *

><p>Phew. Glad I could get through this within my time period. Sorry it wasn't nearly as action packed as the other chapters but I provided you with some hints for what's to come! SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS: <strong>1. <strong>Looking for a BETA reader? I'm available. **2. **There will be a BRAND NEW STORY out within the next couple days for ShelbySabaku's contest and my one-shot collection. **3. **Take the new poll for the next one-shot you'd like to see. **4. **Check out my others stories and let me know what you think of them. **5. **Leave me some love here!


	5. Welcome to the Sand Pit

Brought to you from the laptop of me, here is the 5th chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you to all those who reviewed even after my long-ish absence. It's nice to know that people are still involved in my writing.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any other characters from the series.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone conversation" _

RECAP:

"_Have we confirmed their location?"_

"_Yes," a voice answered. "It seems they have arrived in Suna just this afternoon."_

"_Perfect," another voice replied. "Go and inform the situation to Orochimaru. He has been waiting to here something like this for quite some time now."_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_So what do we do now, Kimimaro?"_

"_We'll let things take their destined course," the man replied as he fiddled with a pen between his fingers. "It's only a matter of time before they come looking for us in places that aren't safe for them."_

_The other person let out a chuckle, "Should we give them a show then?"_

"_I believe they deserve one."_

_The man smiled viciously, "I'll go cook up some mayhem then."_

"_Just this once; try to keep the mess to a minimum," Kimimaro instructed to the man. "I don't want to chase to spoil too quickly."_

"_Sure thing," the man replied as he exited the dark room with his wide grin._

"_I'll be seeing you soon, _Sakura_…"_

* * *

><p>Ch.5 Welcome to the sand pit<p>

"No."

"Yes."

"Absolutely not."

"It's happening. I don't need your consent."

"You promised Kakashi and Tsunade that you wouldn't take part in _any_ field word. This is considered field work, Sakura."

"Not if you look at it from another perspective, Sasuke. Think of it as me just going out for a night on the town but I just happen to have a gun strapped to my inner thigh and a badge hidden in my cleavage."

That silenced the dark haired agent pretty quickly as his mind immediately wandered to the thought of his partner in a skimpy dress. He tried to hide the slight flush of pink matching Sakura's hair that wanted to creep to his cheeks just at the thought. But of course, he contained himself. He was an Uchiha after all, and Uchiha's don't blush.

"I won't lie, that sounds like a pretty damn good image to me," Kiba interjected with his perverted smirk crossing his tanned features.

Gaara cleared is throat before he continued speaking. "So it's settled then," he began as he straightened the stack of photos relevant to the case and stood up form his large desk chair. "Sakura, Kankuro, Sasuke, and Kiba will be going to the club that the henchmen were last seen. Naruto, Temari, and myself will be waiting outside in one of our vehicles while Shikamaru remains here to keep tabs on the security camera." The red headed chief of the Suna department turned back to Sakura, "The four of you will have your ear pieces in, so if you see anything or need back-up you'll be directly connected to the three of us waiting outside as well as Shikamaru."

"Do we really think they'll show up again tonight after being seen only a few days ago?" Kiba questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If they weren't purposely trying to get caught, they wouldn't show up again," Sakura answered as she adjusted the strap going around her neck. "But knowing how careful they are about being caught and how easily they let themselves be seen recently, I know they'll be there again."

"So it's a set-up then," Naruto spoke up.

"Exactly," Sakura confirmed as she let out a long sigh before she turned towards Temari. "Around what time were those pictures captured?"

"Roughly around two in the morning," the female Subaku sibling replied as she brushed some of her sandy blonde bangs out of her turquoise eyes. "We only caught two of the know lackeys, but they had another male with them that we didn't recognize. We're assuming it's a new recruit."

"So who are the ones from the pictures?" Naruto questioned, not bothering to glance at the pictures previously passed around.

"They're Zaku Abumi and Dosou Kinuta," Sakura answered. "Both long time members but not too highly ranked; and both have been arrested before but never convicted for anything serious enough to be locked away for a long period of time. They always made bail."

"Have you ever come in contact with them?" Shikamaru questioned as he gazed at his pink haired friend.

"Fortunately I have never had the_ pleasure_ of their company," Sakura drawled as she brushed her bangs out of her line of vision. "Which means they won't know who I am when they see me at the bar tonight."

"What did the third guy in the pictures look like?" Sasuke asked as Gaara looked over the pictures once more.

"White hair with some blue hues reaching to his shoulders and purple eyes. He has a muscular build probably just under six feet and looks to be roughly twenty-four," Gaara answered as he mulled over the photograph in his hands.

"What time will we leave?" Kankuro inquired as he moved to stand behind Sakura placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"We will leave in three hours," Gaara announced as he turned to the four agents that would be going undercover. "The four of you will need to change and make yourselves…"

"I believe the words you're looking for are 'club ready'," Kiba finished for his as his wolf like smile couldn't be missed from his handsome features. "Let's do this! I'm so ready to check out these Suna ladies."

The pinkette rolled her eyes at the comment as Kiba turned to provide her with a seductive grin, "Don't worry, babe. You're the only girl for me."

"Oh I'm _so_ overjoyed to hear that."

* * *

><p>When darkness finally overcame the city of Suna and the nocturnal inhabitants came out to play in the night life it provided, the Konoha and Suna teams began to make their way over to Blaze, the club they were staking out.<p>

They had previously decided that they would all come in at separate times so they wouldn't look like they were together, although Kankuro promised to play the 'innocent bar patron' and buy her a drink while shamelessly flirting with her. Typical Kankuro.

Kiba went in first, followed by Kankuro then Sasuke. Finally once it was Sakura's turn, Gaara pulled the car up a block away from the club so they she could get out without being suspicious directly in front of the venue.

"Just remember, don't try anything too drastic, Sakura-chan," Naruto reminded his partner as she moved to step out of the vehicle. "Granny would kill me if you got hurt."

Sakura waved him off as she set her heeled feet onto the cement sidewalk outside the car. "I know, Naruto. I'll be careful," she told her blonde friend as she applied a small amount of pressure to the piece in her ear. "Shika, can you hear me?"

"_Loud and clear."_

"Perfect," she replied as she turned back to shoot Gaara a glance. "Can you hear me in your headset too?"

He gave her a nod in return before he told her to be careful, which she only replied with one of her famous smiles as she closed the door and began to walk towards the Suna night life. As she began to get closer to her destination, she knew she was receiving stares from people passing by. She could also understand why. With the dress she was wearing, it was kind of hard not to stare as she passed by.

The dress she wore was short, skin-tight, and jet black. It ended just below her bottom and sucked in her already slim form like a second skin to flaunt her curves to the world. The neckline of the dress was that of a sweetheart with gave her to opportunity to show off her ample chest. The dress then formed off to a one shoulder with sheer black fabric coming up from one side of the neckline up and over her shoulder leading down into a sheer black sleeve to her wrist. She complimented her sexy dress with a pair of black pumps and styled her hair into a loose wave.

As she reached the club, she noticed that there was a line formed just to get through the doors. Not wanting to wait for an eternity, she slowly walked passed the bouncer, being sure that she swayed her hips a little more that she needed too, and acted like she was going to stand in line.

"Miss, hold on!"

'_Hook, line, and sinker.'_

She paused her movement as she him a cute but questioning look over her left shoulder.

"You don't have to wait in this line," his deep voice spoke as she shamelessly glace up and down her boy before meeting her gaze. "Come on in."

"Thank you, handsome," she replied coyly as the bulky male lifted the felt cord so that she could proceed through the front door.

Once she was fully inside, the smell of sweat, alcohol, and shameless decisions filled her nose and the sound of the music's bass reached her ears. She swept her eyes over the crowds and noticed both Kankuro and Kiba conversing with different groups of women, while Sasuke sat in one of the back booths with woman obviously hanging all over him. Sakura inwardly chuckled because she knew that he was pondering how much he hated his life.

Moving over to the bar, Sakura took a seat on one of the empty barstools and crossed one of her legs over the other. She continued to gaze through the crowd with no sign of any of the sound members until the bartender asked for her drink order. She replied with a dirty martini and added a wink causing the male to blush as he rushed away to fill her request.

As she sat at the bar for forty-five minutes and still no sign of the sound targets, she began to grow a tad bit frustrated.

'_Here I am in a Suna club, working under cover on one of the biggest cases of my career and all I get is guys buying me drinks and hands wandering too far for my liking.'_

She felt a familiar hand on her lower back as the smell of Kiba's cologne filled her delicate senses. To everyone else in the club, it looked as if he was whispering compliments in her ear. "Just be patient. I'm sure they'll be here soon so you can work your magic."

Sakura let a small smirk appear across her rosy lips at the brunette's words as he backed away slightly and looked into her endless emerald orbs with his chocolate brown ones, "How 'bout I buy you a drink, beautiful?"

She gave him a cute nod as a part of their act giving Kiba the OK to flag down the bartender. He leaned into her once more and placed his lips against her ear once more. "You really do look gorgeous tonight, Sakura."

He moved away slightly once more and it was her turn to place her plump lips against his ear and move one of her hands to touch his arm. "And you're full of shit, but I'll take the compliment," she replied causing him to chuckle. She was also glad he chose the ear that she didn't have a microphone in so that her fellow agents did have to hear their conversation. "Did you bring those injections that I asked you too?"

He nodded in reply before she continued. "Now control yourself as I tell you where to put them. Move the hand that's on my back up to the top edge of my dress under my arms," she instructed as Kiba began to follow her given directions. "If you touch my boob, I will hurt you later. Slide the needles into my dress from the edge far enough that they are hidden from view."

He did as he was told and finished just as the bartender returned with the drink he ordered for her. Kiba pulled away and gave the pinkette a wink before giving her a short wave good bye as he went to pray on other women in the night club. Sakura glanced down at the drink Kiba ordered for her and noticed it was a shot also referred to as a red-headed slut; one of Kiba's _favorites_.

"_Sakura, one of the targets is walking into the club now," _Gaara's voice informed her through her ear piece. As much as she wanted to immediately turn around, she waited and finished off the shot that Kiba had bought for her before she casually turned the stool to one side so she could lean her good arm on the bar and place the other in her lap. Her new position gave her the seeming view of just as casual glance around the club, when really she was just looking to catch a glimpse of her target.

As she geared the crowd, she noticed the target already had his eyes on her, flashing her a cocky smirk. Perfect. She provided him with a coy smile as she turned back around to face the other direction. Sakura already knew he was going to come over and talk to her. Not being cocky, just knowing how the mind of a male at the club worked.

"_What's your plan?" _Naruto's voice questioned over the ear piece.

"Seduce, relocate to a secluded place, and then proceed to seduce or threaten for information."

"_You seem pretty confident with your plan," _Temari interjected with a smirk evident beneath her words.

"When it comes to horny men in clubs or bars, I'm never wrong."

"Hey, gorgeous. What are you doing over here all by yourself?"

'_Just like clockwork.'_

The pink haired agent turned around to face him and gave him another smile, "Just waiting for someone good enough to come along and keep me entertained."

"Oh, a feisty one," he commented with a chuckle as he leaned up against the empty space on the bar next to her. "I'm sure that attitude gets you pretty far when talking to a guy."

"It has to be that or my devilish good looks and divine personality," the pinkette replied as her smile turned into a smirk, causing the male to let out another chuckle.

"I'm Zaku, and you are?"

"Serene, but don't worry, my name doesn't really go along with my personality," she told him with a wink.

Zaku was a pretty average looking guy in Sakura's opinion. He had dark hair that was spiked on his head and an average looking face. He was only a few inches taller that she was and his build was a little higher than average. He couldn't even begin to compare to her fellow FBI agents from both Suna and Konoha.

"I have to say, Serene, I've never seen hair like yours before," he began as he looped one of his fingers through her bubblegum locks. "I have to wonder if it's natural."

Like she'd never heard that one before.

"Well, Zaku, if you continue to keep my interest for the rest of the night, perhaps you'll get to find out for yourself instead of just taking my word for it," she suggested sensually as she ran a finger up his chest.

"What would I have to do to keep you interested, gorgeous?"

"For starters, you could tell me a little about yourself."

"I'm twenty-five; I was born and raised in Sound, and I am currently in Suna for business."

'_Bingo.'_

She could tell he was a lower ranked member because he gave away the basic information too easily. If he was higher up, he would have at least tried to lie about at least his name and birthplace but she was happy he was making it so easy for her.

"What kind of a business?"

"Just needed to take a couple trips for my company, bringing goods back and forth and what not. Nothing that would probably interest a girl such as yourself."

Sakura certainly didn't like the way he said goods, but she made herself use restraint in cringing at his tone. She knew that this man was on the lower level of the pyramid for the sound gang, but Sakura was sure that he still had some bit of valuable information that could help with the case.

"So what's your story, Serene?" Zaku asked as he moved on of his hands to rest on the exposed flesh of her milky legs.

As the agent inwardly gagged, she kept the coy smile across her rose lips. "I'm twenty-four; I'm originally from Rain country but moved to Suna because I received a position as a nurse at the Suna hospital. In regards to why I'm here tonight," she paused as placed her hand atop of his that was resting on her leg, moving it farther up her creamy thigh, "I'm just looking to have a little fun tonight."

"_Good lord, Sakura. I think Naruto just passed out with a nose bleed,"_ Temari's voice notified over her device.

"Well if you're that impatient, I'm sure we could find somewhere a little more private to have some_ fun_."

"_And now he's up at ready to kill."_

"Sounds good to me," she purred as she sat up from her bar stool, taking Zaku's hand in the process, and led him to the back of the bar where Sakura noticed an empty storage room. Pulling the dark haired agent into the room and shutting the door behind her, she pushed him up against the stone wall with some force and began to nibble on his ear as her hands moved to his waist.

"Zaku, I have a question," she drawled out huskily as she felt the dark haired male's hands grip her hips.

"What, gorgeous?"

He didn't understand what was happening until he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel being pressed against his temple. He then connected that the pink haired goddess in front of him was looking up into his dark eyes with her emerald ones as a smirk played across her features holding his own gun to his head.

"Move and I shoot you," she informed as she prepared the gun for fire, allowing the sound to ring through his ears.

"You bitch!" he spat as he attempted to move only to have the barrel of his gun pressed harder against his head. "Who the _fuck_ are you?"

"I'm the only one who gets to ask questions, _Zaku_. Now, where is the Sound base and where is Orochimaru hiding?"

Zaku snorted and rolled his eyes, "I'm not fucking telling you anything, you stupid bitch!"

"What a shame," Sakura replied with a light sigh escaping her lips as she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out a needle that Kiba had hidden in her bra. She pulled off the cap with her teeth and gave the needle a test squirt making Zaku's eyes widen.

"W-what the hell is that?" he demanded as he tried to further himself from the sharp object that he assumed was going to penetrate his skin.

"Oh, this?" she questioned as her eyes slid over towards the needle and back to his panicked orbs. "Let's just say you'll lose control of your body and mind and pain will be the only thing you feel."

He gave a short laugh, trying to hide the nerves behind it, "That's not possible."

"Unfortunately for you, it is," Sakura replied as she placed the point of the needle against the racing pulse of his neck. "Now, tell me what I need to know, and I won't have to stick this needle painfully into your neck, Zaku."

"I…I can't!"

"I would apologize for the pain you're about to feel, but I can't find it in myself to care that much," she replied as he felt the need start to press harder into his skin.

"Wait! Wait!" he interrupted. "The base is in an old medical warehouse on the outskirts of Sound!"

Sakura smirked, "And Orochimaru?"

"I don't know! Only the higher ups know where he is! They don't tell us anything, I swear!"

Sakura gave him a fake smile. "Thank you for all you're help, Zaku."

And suddenly, all he saw was black as he felt the pistol being whipped across the base of his skull. As Sakura watched the gang member fall unceremoniously to the ground in the storage room, she crouched down and stuck the needle into the male's neck, letting the contents pour into his veins. Of course she lied when she said she wasn't going to use it. She also lied when she told him what the effects were but of course he was easily fooled.

The serum she injected into Zaku's neck caused no harm to his body. It was designed to cause short term memory loss to the person it was injected into. It could cause up to an hour of memory loss all the way up to a full week. Sakura used the drug for two reasons. One; he would forget about meeting her so she wouldn't have to worry about him remembering her identity, and two; he wouldn't remember giving out very valuable information so he would go on thinking he just drank way too much instead of being drugged in the back of a bar by a female with ridiculous pink hair.

Sakura let out a breath as she stood up and stretched her back out before moving one finger to press against the ear piece. "Shikamaru. Look up all old medical factories and warehouses in and around the Sound area. It will have gone out of business or have a notice to be condemned for non-use. Once you have that list, search all other abandoned buildings from the same lines or companies and compile a list."

"_Roger that."_

"_Sakura. Another one of the members has just entered the club,"_ Gaara's voice informed her. _"It's the one we didn't recognize. I suggest at least learning his name so we can perform a full background check on him."_

"Sure thing," she replied as she brushed the dust off her legs from kneeling on the floor.

Stealthily removing herself from the back storage room, she re-entered the main area of the club and moved to sit down in an empty booth. She glanced over to Sasuke who gave her a questioning glance. Sakura replied with a slight nod which she hid as she turned her head to search the crowd for the unnamed gang member.

Sakura noticed him sitting at the bar ordering a drink. She didn't have the patience to let him come to her, so she decided she would make the first move. She glided across the club until she appeared next to the handsome male with pale skin and whiteish blue hued locks.

"Took you long enough to get here," her voice spoke up catching his attention allowing his purple orbs to train over to her emerald ones. "I thought I'd have to go through the whole night surrounded by average looking guys."

Admittedly, the male was much more attractive than the other two Sound lackeys. He was tall, built, and flawless pale skin and unique hair and eye colors just like her own.

His mouth formed into a smirk at her comment before he let out a short chuckle, "Well I would also consider myself fortunate to have the most attractive woman in the club approach me out of everyone here. So I'm really the most attractive guy here tonight?"

The Konoha agent let out a small giggle as she nodded in reply, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Well I don't like to sound _too_ confident in my looks, and if I agreed immediately that I was in fact the sexiest man here that would mean that I was checking out the other guys in the club tonight," he explained making Sakura raise and amused brow as he leaned himself against the bar. "Which is certainly not the case."

"Of course not," Sakura replied with a short laugh at his short tale. "That would just be weird."

"Exactly!" the males exclaimed as he showed off his equally handsome smile. "So that's why I was also waiting for a girl like you, with equally astonishing looks, to confirm how awesome I look tonight."

Sakura let out another laugh, "Well you certainly don't need to be told twice. You seem pretty damn confident in your appearance."

His grin widened, "Yeah, but you don't even need to be told you're gorgeous 'cause you already know. But if you want me to reiterate the fact for you, I'd be more than happy too."

Shrugging koyly she gave him a sweet smile, "It wouldn't hurt."

The male chuckled, "What's your name, princess?"

"Serene. And you are?"

He leaned in to whisper in her ear as he placed a hand on her bicep.

"Let's be real, agent Haruno. Of all names you could have picked, you couldn't think of something more original?"

Emerald orbs widened considerably as her breath unexpectedly hitched in the depths of her throat. "Who are you?" she questioned in a low whisper as her body stiffened under his touch.

He let out a low chuckle the made a shiver run down the base of her spinal cord. "Don't worry about who I am right now. You also don't have to worry about the safety of your identity," he began; his tone deep and velvety. "I have no intent to cause you any trouble. What you and your other agents should worry about, it the situation that is about to occur in one of the near by allies by this club."

Sakura made a move to pull away but he pulled her back, causing pain to shoot up her healing arm. "There's nothing you can do. If you go now, you'll only be putting yourself into a sticky situation."

Her emerald eyes glared up into his lilac ones with mistrust, "Why are you telling me this and what would give me any reason to even _remotely _trust you?"

"Trusting me is the only way you and your unit are ever going to stop Orochimaru and his organization," he replied. "If you don't trust me it's only going to take you longer to find him, giving him even more opportunity to kill more innocent people."

Before Sakura could utter a reply, the male placed a piece of paper in her hands. "I'll be seeing you later, Sakura-chan." And after placing a kiss against her temple, he disappeared into the sea of people crowding the dance floor.

The FBI agent continued to stand next to the bar with her rosy lips parted in slight disbelief as she stared into the crowd blankly. When her brain finally registered the male's previous words she was quick to exit the club. "Shikamaru, Gaara. Tell everyone to come out of the club, now," she instructed as the hot night air brushed her cheeks as she exited the venue. "There's a situation in one of the allies. I'm not sure what it is, but we need to find out ASAP."

"_Where did you find out this information?" _Gaara questioned into the ear piece.

"Find the alley now, ask questions later."

Sakura didn't wait for a response as she sprinted as fast as she could in the ridiculously tall heels she adorned and hiked up her dress slightly as she ran so she could grab the gun that was perfectly concealed against her inner thigh. Holding her gun to her chest with both hands as she braced herself against building walls, she checked every alleyway she saw. Coming to her fourth one, she was greeted with a grim sight.

Sakura lowered her gun as her eyes saddened at the scene. "Fourth alleyway to the right of the club," she spoke quietly as her finger pressed lightly against her ear piece. "Call the police and an ambulance. Make sure you warn them that it's not a pretty sight."

Lying in the middle of the alley was the body of a man who she had seen dancing at the club only an hour before. His body was cut from his stomach to his upper-chest with large amounts of blood pooling around his lifeless corpse. But what disturbed the agent more was the message left at the scene of the crime written in the victims own blood.

"_Catch us if you can."_

* * *

><p>Sorry it was a little dark near the end. Hope you guys liked it otherwise. I'm pretty excited to write the next chapter, but I promise to update my other work first. I will not be abandoning anything. I just…took a long vacation.<p>

Thanks for reading!

Remember to leave you thoughts and comments. They are much appreciated.


	6. Know your Friends and Know your Enemies

Next chapter is here, my loves. I just love writing this story. It's so fun. Thanks to all those who reviewed!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone conversation"_

RECAP:

_The FBI agent continued to stand next to the bar with her rosy lips parted in slight disbelief as she stared into the crowd blankly. When her brain finally registered the male's previous words she was quick to exit the club. "Shikamaru, Gaara. Tell everyone to come out of the club, now," she instructed as the hot night air brushed her cheeks as she exited the venue. "There's a situation in one of the allies. I'm not sure what it is, but we need to find out ASAP."_

"Where did you find out this information?" _Gaara questioned into the ear piece._

"_Find the alley now, ask questions later."_

_Sakura didn't wait for a response as she sprinted as fast as she could in the ridiculously tall heels she adorned and hiked up her dress slightly as she ran so she could grab the gun that was perfectly concealed against her inner thigh. Holding her gun to her chest with both hands as she braced herself against building walls, she checked every alleyway she saw. Coming to her fourth one, she was greeted with a grim sight._

_Sakura lowered her gun as her eyes saddened at the scene. "Fourth alleyway to the right of the club," she spoke quietly as her finger pressed lightly against her ear piece. "Call the police and an ambulance. Make sure you warn them that it's not a pretty sight." _

_Lying in the middle of the alley was the body of a man who she had seen dancing at the club only an hour before. His body was cut from his stomach to his upper-chest with large amounts of blood pooling around his lifeless corpse. But what disturbed the agent more was the message left at the scene of the crime written in the victims own blood. _

"Catch us if you can."

* * *

><p>Ch.6 Know your friends, and know your enemies<p>

The flashing lights of the police cars and ambulances danced around the dark brick walls of the alleyway as the police took in the scene. Sakura only watched as her team members correctly documented the parts of the crime scene and photographed all that was necessary

"They're getting violent," Gaara's voice commented from Sakura's left as he took in the scene.

"Well that's been made obvious," Sakura replied as she couldn't pull her eyes away form the contorted face of the gutted victim. She couldn't help but recall his smiling face as flirted with countless women at the club. The life that he had only two hours before was now taken from him too soon because of their presence in Suna. The pink haired agent let out a sigh as she raked a hand through her tresses and pulled her cell phone out of her dress, hitting the speed dial number for Kakashi's cell phone.

"_Hakate."_

"Kakashi, it's me," Sakura began as she continued to watch people photograph and sample the scene. "We have our first hit."

"_Fill me in."_

"I interrogated one of the sound members and found out that the sound base is currently an old run down medical building, the nature or type of building we aren't sure yet, but I'm having Shikamaru run a search as we speak," Sakura explained. "I met another of the sound operatives and the details on him I'll explain later, but the organization has just added another crime to their list in order to reach out to us."

"_What happened?"_

"They murdered an innocent Suna citizen who happened to be in the same place we were undercover and wrote outside on an ally in his blood. We were able to identify him but we have no leads as far as to who exactly committed the crime. We're hoping that they slipped up and left something behind that they didn't mean to," Sakura continued as she let out a final sigh. "I just can't help but wonder whether this is a warning or an invitation."

"_See what you can find from the crime scene and about that building and get back to me,"_ the Konoha FBI chief replied.

"Sure thing, Kakashi."

"_And Sakura?"_

"Yes, chief?"

"_Were you involved in any of the field work tonight?"_

"Nice to talk to you, chief! Gotta go!" And the female agent ended the call with a slightly guilty look as she turned back to Gaara and shrugged. Tucking the phone into her dress, she moved towards the scene and made her way through the police barriers and stood behind Kiba as he took blood samples from the victim.

"Find anything out of the ordinary?" Sakura asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll find a nice view of your perfect legs when I turn around," the brunette said as he turned his head to look at her, letting a large wolf like smirk appear on his features once he was facing her. "Oh yeah. Damn, I love my job."

Sakura rolled her eyes before facing Sasuke who was moving towards her with something in his hand. "Find something?" Sakura asked as she looked at the item held between the tweezers in the dark haired male's grasp.

"Is that…"

"Yeah. It's a handprint left in blood on the victim's shirt."

"Perfect," Sakura replied as Sasuke walked away and she looked down at the note the mysterious sound member had given to her. As she opened it up she gazed down at the message that was left. All that was written was a phone number.

* * *

><p>After the crime scene was cleaned up and the body brought to the Suna FBI's medical lab, the Konoha agents when back to the flat owned by the FBI that they were to stay at while in Suna. Sakura immediately took her bag inside and made her way straight towards the shower. She dropped her bag on the tiled floor in the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as she then kicked off her ridiculous heels and began to unzip the side of her dress. She made her way to the shower and blasted the hot water before stepping in.<p>

She let out a sigh of relief at the hot temperature soothing her tired muscles as she placed her hands against the tiled wall behind the shower head. She let her head dip with exhaustion as the water cascaded through her hair and across her skin.

'_Where am I supposed to go from here?' _she thought to herself. _'I'm so in over my head with all of this stuff plus I have no leads to where Orochimaru is. Forget about the Akatsuki, they're so far off the radar that I won't find them unless they want to be found.'_

The pink haired beauty let out a frustrated huff before she finished her shower and stepped out. She brushed her tangled locks and found a pair of black sweat pants and a white tank top to change into. Sakura examined her stitches and noticed they were beginning to heal before she emerged from the bathroom. She tossed her bag into the bedroom that she always stayed in before she made her way back towards the living room where her other partners were seated with the case files spread across the coffee table.

"Feel better?" Shikamaru questioned from his spot at the computer he had set up at a near by desk.

"Loads," she replied as she took a seat in between Sasuke and Naruto. "So what have we found out so far?"

"I have a list of four possible locations that the base could be based on the locations and length of time that the buildings have been abandoned. We can check those out as soon as possible."

"The handprint, as well as the clothing material, are being ran through the lab data base as to the material and if the prints match up with anyone who has been incarcerated before," Sasuke added as he leaned back into the couch.

"Great. Anything else?" Sakura questioned as she felt Naruto move behind her and place his hands on her shoulders in a massaging manner. She let out a sigh of relief.

"That's all we have for now, Sakura-chan," Naruto spoke from behind her. "Tomorrow we'll get back in touch with Kakashi and check out those medical buildings to see if we can locate their base."

Sakura could only grunt in response as her head lulled to the side while Naruto continued to pamper her neck muscles. When he finally stopped, she rolled her shoulder and turned to give him a thankful smile. "What are the sleeping arrangements tonight?"

"Shikamaru pulled the lucky straw, so he's sharing a room with you," Kiba mumbled with jealousy evident in his voice.

Sakura chuckled and rolled her eyes before she stood up and faced her friends. "Alright, I'm headed to bed. Shikamaru, I'll see you whenever you turn in and the rest of you I will see in the morning. Do not wake me up before 9."

"Yes ma'am."

Sakura returned to her room, closing the door behind her, and pulled her cell phone from her bag. She grabbed the crumbled piece of paper and dialed the number written on it before placing the phone against her ear. It rang twice before she heard a familiar voice.

"_Hello, Sakura."_

"Who are you and what is your affiliation with my unit and the sound organization?"

"_Those are some deep questions to start out this conversation with," _the voice on the other line replied. _"Are you sure you want to know?"_

"You already know my answer."

"_Unfortunately I can't tell you anything quite yet, Sakura. What I can tell you is this; the sound base that you're looking for, isn't in the actual building. You need to think outside the box."_

"Can you tell me what location it is?"

"_Surprisingly enough, it's the one that is closest to where you were when you arrived in Suna."_

"And as to who you are?"

"_Meet me at 7:30pm tomorrow night at a restaurant called Gold Moss. Wait for me at the bar. I'll answer all the questions brewing in that pretty head of yours."_

"Alright."

"_And Sakura?"_

She paused to listen to his words.

"_Wear something nice."_

And the line went dead.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sakura awoke around 9 and found Shikamaru facing her with an arm swung around her waist, holding her to him. She inwardly laughed as she brushed some stray dark hair from his face before climbing out of bed. After a quick shower and getting herself ready for the day, she stepped out wearing black pants and grey v-neck shirt with her badge hanging from her neck and her hair styled normally.<p>

"Shikamaru is still sleeping but he deserves the extra sleep since he stayed up until 4 in the morning working on this case and any extra information we could ever hope for," Sakura explained to the rest of her team as they assembled in the living room. "We'll head to Gaara's office first and then make our way over to the medical building."

"Which one?" Kiba questioned as he clipped his badge to his belt.

"I'll explain that when we meet up with Gaara," Sakura replied as she tossed Sasuke the keys with her good arm and signaled Naruto to grab the extra paper work that she wasn't already carrying from the coffee table.

Once they arrived at Gaara's office, the other FBI operatives moved to the conference room and all took a seat at the table. Sakura sitting between Gaara and Kankuro, grabbed her phone and pulled the conference phone over towards her, dialing in Shikamaru and Kakashi.

"So what do we know?" Gaara questioned as he looked towards the Konoha members.

"The victim's name is Hiroku, he was 25 years old and a Suna native," Kankuro spoke as he placed the victim's picture on the table and signaled towards the board that was placed at the head of the room that had pictures of the crime scene posted to it. "He had no relation to anyone from the sound organization, but he was the cousin of someone in the Suna police department."

"So it was planned out then," Temari mused as she shuffled through some of the files she had in front of her.

"It may have been, but it could also have been a coincidence," Gaara retorted. "It's unnerving that they could have that sort of information, but none the less, we need to focus on more of the important facts."

"What do we know about the hand print and the clothing material?" Sakura questioned as she glanced towards Sasuke.

"Gray cotton, but the hand print has not recovered a match," the Uchiha replied as he passed a picture of both pieces of evidence around the table. "However, the print is unusually large. I think that is a valuable piece of information to consider. We also found some skin under the victim's nails showing that there was a struggle. We have DNA, but still no match."

"_I would agree with Sasuke,"_ Kakashi's voice spoke over the speaker. _"It's something to consider as you get farther along in the case." _

"What information do we have on the location?" Gaara asked as he looked towards Sakura. "And who is the double agent you were talking to last night?"

"We don't know for sure that he is a double agent," Kiba retorted with a mildly sour look. Sakura could only assume that he saw the way that she and the mystery man were interacting the night before.

"He is a double agent," Sakura replied as she brushed a hand through her hair. "At least I hope he is."

"Why do you say that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I'm meeting up with him tonight to get more information," the pink haired agent replied as looked around the room skeptically at the other agents before continuing. "But he did tell me that the location was the one that was closest to where we arrived in Suna, so I'm assuming that it's the location closest to this office. But he also told me that I needed to look outside the box to find the base. I'm guessing that he means its not the building itself, but somewhere around it."

"_It could be under the building,"_ Shikamaru offered as the sound of his keyboard clicking could be heard over the call. _"It looks like that building had a basement at one point or another so they may have expanded from there. I can send you a copy of the blueprints of the building to take with you."_

"Sounds like this is the first place we need to visit," Gaara replied.

"Wait a second! Are we just going to ignore that fact that Sakura is going out with someone we don't know that could be a threat to her safety? Double agent or not, I don't think that's very smart!" the brunette Konoha agent protested.

"I agree," Naruto replied as he glanced over to his pink haired friend. "I don't feel right letting you meet up with this guy."

"This may be our only option for some information that we may not be able to get our hands on otherwise," Sakura retorted as she tried to reason with her comrades. "Besides, we will be meeting in a busy public place."

"Where are you meeting?" Sasuke questioned.

"A restaurant called Gold Moss," Sakura replied. Watching as Kankuro and Temari's eyes slightly widened. She shot them a questioning glance. "What's with the faces?"

"Gold Moss is one of the most high class restaurants in all of Suna," Gaara replied for his siblings as Sakura noticed a small hint of jealousy as well as surprise in the red head chief's tone.

"This guy really wants to make an impression," Temari muttered under her breath.

"_The question is what kind of impression?"_ Kakashi questioned and it left Sakura to allow his words echo through her head.

* * *

><p>After the units finished their meeting, the Konoha unit, minus Shikamaru and plus Kankuro, made their way over to the suspected sound base. Kankuro drove since he knew he area best while the rest of the agents piled in the car, all having their weapons loaded and attire the would suit the mission assigned. Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara were all at the office but still available through the ear pieces placed in the agent's ears.<p>

"_It should be coming up on the left,"_ Shikamaru voiced through the piece of the technology. Kankuro pulled noticed the run down building about a 100 feet up the road and parked the car behind a few trees, just in case.

"What's our story in case we run into someone?" Kiba asked as he stepped out of the car and tucked his gun into the holster on his belt.

"The only person that would stop us would be a lower level member," Sasuke added as he held the blueprints of the building in his grasp.

"We tell them we're here to meet about a weapon delivery," Sakura replied as she cocked her weapon and strapped it to her thigh and placed some medical syringes filled with the memory loss serum. "They may ask us to remove our weapons, do you all have spares?"

"Is that a serious question?" Naruto retorted with a laugh as he opened his black jacket to reveal two extra guns and a tazer. Sakura let out a laugh as the group began to make their way towards the run down medical building.

Once they reached the entrance, with Kiba leading the way, the glanced around corners and passed through abandoned hallways. "This place is creepy as hell," Naruto muttered under his breath as he looked around and the crumbling walls and dirty floors, the smell of decay filled their noses. "What were you expecting, a five star joint?" Kiba retorted. They eventually came upon a dark stairwell that the blue prints indicated lead to the basement of the building. Quietly making their way down the dingy steps, they noticed gang signs and profanity spray painted on the walls of the stair case.

"This has to be the place," Sakura whispered as she ran her fingers over one of the markings. "These are their territorial signs."

The group stopped as they heard the sound of foot steps walking down the hallway at the bottom of the stairs they were walking down. Sakura made her way to the front of the group and leaned herself against the stair rail near the bottom so she would be the first person who ever was coming towards them would see.

"Sakura!" Kiba hissed as he signaled towards the gun strapped to her thigh, signaling for her to pick it up.

"_Sakura, get your damn gun,"_ Gaara protested over her ear piece.

Sakura shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to make herself look as casual as possible, praying that this crazy idea of hers wouldn't end up in a more fatal bullet wound. As the footsteps grew closer, Sakura sucked in a deep breath to calm herself, before putting on a tough and emotionless face.

A tall yet skinny man walked through the door and looked shocked when he noticed the group of people standing in the stairwell. Sakura noticed his hand reach toward his weapon on his belt, but she stopped him with her words.

"_Finally_," she spoke up as she pushed herself off the rail. "We've been looking for someone for a while now. Is this really how you treat your business partners? How… unprofessional."

"Who are you?" the male questioned with a hand still on the weapon clipped at his belt.

"And you don't even know we were coming?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow as she let out an annoyed huff. "Great. You're leaving me with a _wonderful_ opinion of your organization."

"Sorry. What are you hear for?" he replied.

"Weapons consultation. I'm here to see if your money is worth my weapons," Sakura replied in a low tone as she gave the man a small smirk before talking another step towards him. "Tell me…is your man in charge here at the moment?"

"Which man?"

"There's more than one?" the agent questioned raising a manicured pink brow. Waving a hand in the air to signal not to answer, she continued, "The man I'm looking for is Orochimaru. Is he here?"

The group saw the male visibly tense as he clenched his hand around his weapon. "How do you know about Orochimaru?"

'_Think, Sakura. Think fast.'_

"You'd think that if your organization contacted me about my services that I wouldn't research who exactly I would be working for?" Sakura questioned with a serious tone as she looked at the sound gang member. "That wouldn't be very smart for a successful business woman such as myself. Now is he here or not?"

"He's not in town right now," the male began. "But I can leave a message that you stopped by."

"The thing is, this is urgent business," Kankuro spoke up as he crossed his arms over his muscled chest. "Do you have any idea where he is? We were instructed to only make a deal with him personally and if he wants our business we need to know where he is."

The male shrugged his shoulders slightly as he looked at the group, "I have no idea. We aren't really told those kind of details. I could grab one of my superiors for you if you want."

"_Get a name and get out of there,"_ Gaara's voice spoke over the ear piece.

"Who's in charge here?" Sasuke asked from his spot in the stairwell.

"His name is Kimimaro. If you follow me, I can take you to him."

"Fine," Sakura spoke up as she watched the male turn around and begin to walk away. She quickly glanced toward Kiba and Naruto who moved quickly toward the male to disable and restrain him. Naruto quickly restrained the man holding his arms while Kiba delivered a quick punch to the stomach. Sakura moved quickly to the front of the gang member, pulling out a syringe and plunging it into his neck.

"Thanks for all your help," she whispered as the man fell unconscious.

Naruto held the weight of the man with ease as he lowered him to the ground and stepped away from him. "I think it's time we take our leave," the blonde spoke up as the group began their journey back out to the FBI vehicle.

* * *

><p>"So now that we know where they are located, where do we go from here?" Kankuro asked as the group was gathered again in the conference room to discuss their new findings. Kakashi was not connected via phone due to other cases that required his attention, but everyone else gazed down at the files in front of them and the evidence posted on the boards around the room.<p>

"It sounds like then ext step to reach Orochimaru would be through this Kimimaro that was mentioned," Gaara replied as he shuffled through his files. "We have no prior information on him besides that he has been mentioned in a few other sound related cases that we've dealt with prior to this."

"Well we can't just barge into the base and demand that they turn in Kimimaro, that would be suicide," Kiba retorted as he looked around at the other agents. "How are we supposed to get him?"

"I may have an idea, but I don't want to suggest it unless it's absolutely necessary and we have no other plans," the Suna chief spoke up.

"I think I'm considering the same plan as you," Kankuro added as he brushed a hand through his brown tresses before looking up at the pink haired agent.

"Unfortunately, I think I know what the two of you are thinking," the green eyed female replied as she let out a sigh. "But what would make you think that could even work?"

"Wait, what are you guys talking about? What plan?" Naruto piped in with confusion.

"Using live bait," Kankuro replied. "Live bait in the form of FBI officer Sakura Haruno, the most known agent through out the gang criminal system."

"You think this guy knows her?" Sasuke asked looking over at his pink haired friend before looking back to the Suna agents.

"I'm sure they've probably never met, but from the ordeal with Kabuto earlier this year, I'm sure a lot of the higher ups in the sound gang probably know about her. Plus he was probably involved in some way with the incident from last night," Shikamaru told the group as he read one of his files. "If we could set it up in the right way, it might work."

"I don't feel so great about that idea," Naruto commented. "It just doesn't sit right with me. I don't like putting Sakura-chan into a situation like that."

"Well hopefully we don't have to," Kankuro replied. "Right now we still need to find out who was involved in the crime last night."

"Agreed," Gaara added in as he stood from his seat at the conference table. "Let's continue to go over our evidence and see if we can find a lead to anything. In the mean time Sakura, you need to prepare for your evening with the double agent."

"What do I need?"

"Well for starters, we need to get you a dress," Temari told her as she moved to walk out of the conference room with the pinkette. "But I think I have the perfect dress for this occasion."

"You have a dress planned out to meet up with a double agent? You're very prepared," Sakura replied sarcastically.

"Shut up, smart ass," the blonde replied as dragged the pinkette out of the room and back to her place to get ready.

* * *

><p>When the time finally came around for Sakura to go to Golden Moss, her nerves finally set in. She was sitting in the passenger seat of the car while Gaara drove her to the desired location. She wasn't aware that the restaurant she was supposed to meet this person at was as fancy as it was, and she was glad Temari had something for her to wear because she did not bring a dress of the caliber she was wearing with her to Suna.<p>

"Don't be nervous," her red headed friend spoke up breaking the silence in the car. "You'll be fine. We'll be stationed not far from the restaurant and you'll have in your ear piece and we placed a tracking device in one of your shoes."

"Really, Gaara?" Sakura replied with a small smile. "A tracking device?"

A smirk graced his handsome features, "Better safe than sorry, Sakura. I just want you to be as safe as possible. Regardless if we think we can trust this guy, I will not take any chances when it comes to your safety. You're too important."

Sakura replied with a smile as he squeezed his arm that was resting on the arm rest between the seats. She noticed the restaurant coming into view as Gaara pulled up the car to the curb and stepped out to move around and open her door. He took her hand and helped her out of the car so the world could take in her appearance.

The dress Temari lent her was black and touched the floor. It had long sleeves that moved up into gold beading on her shoulders and becoming more prominent as it moved into a gold collar around her neck. The most noticeable portion of the dress was the opening on the front of the gown the exposed her ample cleavage. The dress also had an elegant belt with small gold plated pieces in the center. Her hair was pulled to one side and curled while her make-up was done accordingly.

Gaara lifted the back of her hand to his lips and kissed her lightly, "Good luck, Sakura. You look beautiful."

She smiled at him as he moved back to the car and drove away. Sakura made her way to the large double doors and walked in while someone held the door for her. She made her way up to the host working at the front who was obviously taking in her appearance.

"Good evening and welcome to Golden Moss, what can I do for you tonight?"

"I'm here to meet someone at the bar," she told him with a small smile, as she held her small clutch in her grasp.

"Right this way," he replied as he led her through the magnificent dining area and up to the elegant bar. She thanked him and took a seat on one of the bar stools as a bartender came up to her and asked her for her drink order. As she waited for the bartender to return with her drink, she crossed her legs and leaned back into her seat placing her hand in her lap. When she noticed the bartender coming back with her glass of wine she began to pull out her form of payment, she felt a hand place itself on her own.

"Put that on my tab," the male behind her spoke up as the bartender only nodded in response before walking away and leaving Sakura's glass of wine on the table.

Sakura glanced up and was met with the sight of the handsome man she met the night before, only this time he was dressed in a classy suit and looked more appropriate for the venue they were in for the night.

"It would be rude of me to invite you here for a drink and not pay for the alcohol consumed."

"Rude indeed," she retorted as she swung her chair around slightly so she could face him better as she held her wine glass delicately in her hand. "But what's even more rude is not giving someone your name when you ask them to meet you somewhere."

"How _very_ rude indeed," he replied with a small smirk adorning his features as he sat down in the seat next to her. "Who does something like that?"

She raised a manicured pink brow as she looked at him over her wine glass as she took a drink. The male only chuckled in return as he lightly grasped the hand that wasn't holding her wine glass and kissed the back of her hand lightly, "The name's Suigetsu. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The gentleman act doesn't really seem like your thing, Suigetsu. We're here to be honest and exchange some pretty important information, so lets cut the act and get down to why I got all dressed up to come out here."

"Speaking of dressed up, you do look gorgeous tonight. But I can understand where you're coming from. Starting asking all the questions I know you have piled up in that pretty little head of yours," he replied as the bartender brought him his own drink.

"How did you know who I was?"

"Well, Sakura," he began as he took a swig of what she assumed to be whiskey before he continued, "I know a lot more about you than you think. But as you may have already assumed, I'm working undercover for the Mist police department to try and help bust this sound operation in any way I can. I've been undercover for a little over a year now."

"And why help us when you are a part of the Mist department?"

"Because I know you're much closer to making a break in the case than my department is. No offense to them, but you guys are more involved and better equipped to work through this case," he replied as he ran a hand through his bluish-white locks. "Does that surprise you?"

"Actually no," she replied as she took another sip from her pinot grigio. "I know we're the closest because I work my ass off on this case and have been for the past 2 years. It makes me proud that your unit has yet to even come close, although I will commend you and being able to get your foot inside the organization."

"Thank you, thank you very much," the mist officer replied with a smirk.

"But why would you make contact with me like this? What do you have to gain from doing this?"

"Acting alone, there isn't much I can do. But if I can give you a lead in order to help you along with this case that seems pretty beneficial to me."

"Does that mean you have a lead for me?" she asked.

"As a matter a fact, I do," he replied as he finished the rest of his drink. "I didn't just invite you here for a drink tonight. There is a business meeting for the gang tonight, and I have brought you along as my date."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sakura retorted. "I'm an FBI agent who has put away many of their fellow gang members and is out to destroy their gang in general. I hate to say it, but I'm probably not the best choice in a date for this kind of an event."

"All you'll have to do is play the same role you did last night," Suigetsu replied as he reached out to touch a piece of her pink locks. "Granted it might be best for you to wear a wig, but you'll be Serene; the medical student from Suna. The random beautiful girl I decided to take to this classy event, since a date is required."

"I can't risk that," she replied although she wanted to take the opportunity against her best wishes. "Not to brag my infamy, but someone is bound to know me or even do their research and find that there's nothing that comes up in any system of a girl named Serene studying medical sciences."

"Then can I make another suggestion?" he inquired as she nodded in reply, waiting for him to continue. "Would you like to see who you're up against?"

"You mean Kimimaro? He's here tonight?"

"He will be shortly," Suigetsu replied as he adjusted the sleeves of his jacket. "If you follow my lead, I can put you in the position to see him and some of the other higher ups if they come in together."

She looked up into his lavender eyes with evident severity, "What do I have to do?"

"Come with me and follow my lead," he told her as he held out a hand for her to take. "But if I tell you to do something, you have to do it. Got it?"

Sakura took in a deep breath and nodded on her exhale as she placed her hand in his. He led her away form the bar and near the back of the establishment. Sakura noticed a secluded dance floor near the back which Suigetsu looked to be heading for. Once they reached the dance floor Sakura tugged back on his hand slightly, making him turn towards her with a questioning look.

"I'm not really the dancing type," to told him quietly as she fumbled with one of the long sleeves on her dress.

Suigetsu shot her a handsome smile as he tugged the pinkette towards him making her bump into his chest. "Like I said, just follow my lead."

Before she could protest, he pulled her further onto the dance floor and begun to lead her through the sets to go along with the music that the live band was performing. His movements were effortless and he made everything so simple with one hand on her waist while the other held one of her hands. About halfway through the song that was playing she felt the male pull her waist closer and moved his mouth to her ear. "They're walking in now. Third guy walking in. That's Kimimaro."

Suigetsu moved so that his back was to the gang members entering the restaurant giving Sakura the opportunity to look over his shoulder at the group. There were four men and one woman, but her emerald eyes went right to the third man like the undercover cop had mentioned. He had white hair to his shoulders with one front piece sectioned off by a red band. He looked to have two red circle tattoos on his forehead above either side of his nose and red markings under his forest green eyes. His black suit was tailored to perfectly to his fit body which looked to be slightly less than six feet.

"Who are the others with him?" Sakura asked as she couldn't take her eyes off all the men, trying to take in every characteristic she possibly could before they were out of her sight. She felt Suigetsu move so that she was now facing the back of the room before the officer dipped her body at the waist allowing her to continue watching the members entering.

"The two in the front are twins, obviously," he began as he gazed at the gang members across the room. "Their names are Sakon and Ukon, and their Kimimaro's right and left hand men. They're called his spiders. The woman behind him is Kin, and she's most obviously the boobs of the organization because she's one of the only females. She works with interrogation of anyone who needs to be interrogated, or tortured. And the last guy, that's Jirobo. He's the muscles and does most of Kimimaro's dirty work."

Listening to Suigetsu's last sentence, Sakura tried to get a good look at the man's hands but was too far away to see anything. Suigetsu lifted the pinkette back up to his chest as he noticed the sound members leaving their line of sight to go into a private section. "I need to get a look at that last guys hands," Sakura spoke aloud as she gazed over her shoulder.

"Why his hands?" Suigetsu asked as he began to lead the pink haired agent in another dance.

"Whoever committed the murder last night left a hand print of blood on the victim's shirt, the thing is that the hand print was abnormally large, just like the ginger giant who walked in," Sakura explained. "I think it might be a possible match."

"And how are you going to prove that?"

"I need a handprint and a DNA sample if possible," she pondered aloud as she bit lightly into her bottom lip and thought about her options. "You think you can get him outside for me? Just the big guy."

"Yeah, but what are you planning?" Suigetsu asked as he felt the pinkette take his hand and lead him off the dance floor.

"Get him outside in 10 minutes, tell him Suna cops were snooping around the area or something, but don't come out with him," she told him as she moved towards the exit of the restaurant letting go of his hand to turn around and look at him. "I'll be in contact with you."

"Of course," he replied with a small smile as he began to walk away.

"And Suigetsu," she spoke up, catching his attention so that he turned back to face her. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem, babe. Now go do what you need to do. He'll be out in 10."

* * *

><p>Sakura was all set up for Jirobo to come out. She had one of the Suna agents grab her a wig and a black jacket to cover her dress. She also pulled up in a car she had 'borrowed' momentarily from a pedestrian passing by. She noticed the red head walk out of the club looking around, presumably for any cops lurking around. She opened the car door and stepped out. She ha conveniently parked her car next to a sewer vent in the road. As she stepped out, she pretended to get her heel stuck in one of the holes.<p>

"Oh shit," she complained out loud. "Can someone give me a hand? My heel is stuck in the sewer vent."

She noticed she got the guys attention. "Hey, would you mind helping me out really quick? Please. You look strong enough to pull this right out."

Sakura noticed the man rolling his eyes before he walked over to where she was, looking her up and down. And to him, she just looked like a blonde damsel in distress. "I don't know if you can see it very well. You might have to get lower to get a better look."

And so he did. Squatting on the ground and place his hands on the sand and gravel dusted ground to examine her dilemma. Grabbing her ankle he pulled just hard enough to remove the heel from the hole in the sewer top. She faked loosing her balance and gripped his arms tightly so not to fall on her face, but tight enough where she had to dig her nails into his arms. Once she regained her balance, she let go of the bulky male and gave him a thankful smile. "Thank you so much for all your help. I'll try to be more careful next time."

The bulky man only grunted in response before walking back inside the high class restaurant. The female let out a sigh of relief as she blew some of the stray blonde hair of her wig away from her face. She grabbed the end of the dress and turned it slightly to the side to view the gravel and sand hand print left at the end of the black fabric. She let a small yet triumphant smile grace her features as she leaned against the borrowed car.

Placing her finger to her ear piece, she activated it. "Guys. You there?"

"_Yeah, what's the scoop?"_ Kiba's voice replied over the system.

"I think I have what we need to convict our criminal from last night," she replied. "And I know what Kimimaro looks like."

* * *

><p>I greatly apologize for the delay in all my stories, but I have once again found my mojo. I will be posting updates of my unfinished stories soon. Thank you for still loving me even though I've been dead for a while. I know, I suck.<p> 


	7. A Little Birdie Told Me

I welcome myself back to the world of the living. Hello. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. When I write these chapters it gives me a wonderful excuse to watch crime shows.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. Duh.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone Conversation"_

RECAP:

_Sakura noticed the man rolling his eyes before he walked over to where she was, looking her up and down. And to him, she just looked like a blonde damsel in distress. "I don't know if you can see it very well. You might have to get lower to get a better look."_

_And so he did. Squatting on the ground and place his hands on the sand and gravel dusted ground to examine her dilemma. Grabbing her ankle he pulled just hard enough to remove the heel from the hole in the sewer top. She faked loosing her balance and gripped his arms tightly so not to fall on her face, but tight enough where she had to dig her nails into his arms. Once she regained her balance, she let go of the bulky male and gave him a thankful smile. "Thank you so much for all your help. I'll try to be more careful next time."_

_The bulky man only grunted in response before walking back inside the high class restaurant. The female let out a sigh of relief as she blew some of the stray blonde hair of her wig away from her face. She grabbed the end of the dress and turned it slightly to the side to view the gravel and sand hand print left at the end of the black fabric. She let a small yet triumphant smile grace her features as she leaned against the borrowed car. _

_Placing her finger to her ear piece, she activated it. "Guys. You there?"_

"Yeah, what's the scoop?"_ Kiba's voice replied over the system._

"_I think I have what we need to convict our criminal from last night," she replied. "And I know what Kimimaro looks like."_

* * *

><p>Ch.7 A Little Birdie Told Me<p>

"It's a match," Sasuke's voice rang through the conference room. "The DNA and the handprint size are identical to the ones found at the scene. They both belong to Jirobo."

"This is enough to convict him, but the current issue is how we can arrest him other than barging into a highly dangerous and secured sound base," Gaara spoke from his place at the conference table.

"Nice work, Sakura," Kankuro smirked as he glanced towards the pinkette who was now wearing a Suna FBI t-shirt and a pair of Temari's workout shorts. "I'm not sure what outfit I'm liking better though; this or that sexy dress."

Sakura rolled her eyes and flipped off the agent before turning back to Gaara, "I think I should get back in contact with Suigetsu. He might be able to let me know when Jirobo is outside of the base in an area that we can get to him. The only other option I see is waiting around for him to rear his ugly head."

"Then you will contact him again as soon as you head down to the medical center and get your stitches looked at," Gaara replied as he chuckled at the disappointment on Sakura's face as Temari led her down to the correct room.

* * *

><p>Once the nurse gave her the okay to leave, Sakura pulled out her phone and called Suigetsu. The phone rang three times before she heard the violet eyed male's voice in a whisper over the phone. "Is everything okay?" she asked as she heard him let out a short sigh.<p>

Sakura heard no reply and she was about to ask if he was still there when she heard something startling. _"They're going to target you, Sakura."_

"What do you mean?"

"_You're getting too close and they don't like that at all,"_ he replied as he let out another sigh. _"I think they've even brought you to Orochimaru's attention, and that is the last thing you want even though he's the person you're after. You need to back off, Sakura. You and the Suna unit. You all need to back off. If you don't, you'll end up like the civilian in that ally."_

"Is that a threat, Suigetsu?" she questioned as she exited the medical center and moved out towards her car, carrying her bag with her.

"_Not from me,"_ he answered. _"I'm serious, Sakura. You need to drop this case right now if you know what's good for you. It's not safe now, and if you continue you will get hurt."_

"I do not need your advice on a case that I've been working on for the majority of my career," she retorted with anger as she interrupted him as he tried to speak up again. "I also do not need your warning. I have known how dangerous this case was since I first started. And speaking of danger, I know how dangerous this is because this is my _job_. I put myself in danger every damn day so that I can make people's lives safer than they are now. If a people like Jirobo, Kimimaro, and _Orochimaru_ as well as all of the other low lives in that gang that think what they do is justified are still allowed to be out in the world, then my job isn't finished. It won't be finished until they are behind bars or even dead if that's what it comes to. Now Suigetsu, if you want to stop helping me that's fine if you think you're upholding my best interest, but you should know that I will be on this case until it is closed and with you're help I can waste less time and catch these bastards before more people have to suffer because of them. Will you help me?"

Sakura heard nothing on the other line for a while and she knew he was thinking about his options. He finally let out a long breath, _"Fine. I'll help as best as I can for now. But if I feel like you're getting too deep, I'll pull."_

"I'll take what I can get," she replied with a small smile at her small victory. "Now, I need to find Jirobo for conviction, and if there is anything you can give me on the other three from the Gold Moss or Orochimaru, I'll take that as well."

"_Jirobo will be out for a drug run between 2am and 3am,"_ Suigetsu started. _"They'll be around Second Street in Suna's downtown district. Ask the Suna unit, they'll know exactly where I'm talking about. But don't go alone. If you're going to arrest him, you'll need a lot of man power. As for the others, I'll try and keep you posted when I have something useful."_

"Thanks, Suigetsu," she replied. "We'll keep in touch."

* * *

><p>By the time 1:45am came around, Sakura had all of the necessary back-up from the FBI and police force. She also had changed into proper attire including a bullet proof vest. As she waited in the passenger seat of the black out vehicle with Gaara and Kankuro, they patrolled the streets looking for any sign of activity. About 10 minutes later Sakura noticed a few men in an ally looking to be waiting around. As they drove by again, they were still there. Sakura nodded and Gaara drove the car around the corner while Kankuro signaled back-up.<p>

Once they were out of the car they gathered round the ally, not too long after she heard other voices added to the conversation. "Naruto, pull your team around to the other end. I want everyone apprehended," Sakura spoke over her radio piece. Using a mirror she had brought, she placed it slowly around the corner to get a glimpse of the scene. As soon as she got a view of Jirobo, she pulled back the utensil and turned to Gaara. "I'm going in first. You'll know when I need back-up." The red head nodded as he watched the pink haired FBI agent move towards the front entrance to the ally way the criminals were in.

Sakura let out a deep breath before she stepped forward, catching the groups attention. "Run along, sweetheart," one of the men spoke up. "We're busy right now." Sakura smirked as her eyes slide over to meet Jirobo's. "Jirobo I presume?"

He grunted as his eyes narrowed in her direction and his hand went towards his hip, assumable towards his weapon. "Who the hell is asking?"

Sakura pulled out her badge case and let it flip open showing them men her FBI issued badge. The looks on their faces were always priceless, but here eyes remained on Jirobo who didn't look too afraid. "FBI. You're under arrest for the murder of Hiroku and for illegal distribution of multiple illegal substances."

Jirobo soon let out a short chuckle, "Sorry to rain on your short little pink haired parade, but I don't see you being able to arrest me. Want to know what I see?"

"Please enlighten me," she replied with a pink brow raised at the large man.

"I can see myself making a lot of money off your pretty face in the sex industry."

The pink haired agent pursed her rosy lips slightly, "Although I suppose I could take that as a disgusting form of a compliment, you want to know what I think?" The ginger male paused waiting for her answer. "You're still fucking under arrest." And with her words, her fellow agents as well as police officers swarmed the scene and began booking the criminals. Some of them tried to run, and some even put up quite a fight, Jirobo being one of them.

As Jirobo continued to struggle, as did the officers restraining him, Sakura moved over to help them out. "You pink haired _bitch_! Stupid _fucking_ slut! I know exactly who you are! Don't you fucking worry though; worse things are going to happen to you then just going to a fucking _whore house_!" Jirobo screamed as he fought against those who were holding him back. "Orochimaru is going to make sure you fucking suffer and scream for mercy by the time he's done with you!"

Before he could continue, Naruto was behind him knocking him out though the pressure point in his neck with brute force. The giant went limp and the officers pulled him to the back of one of the police cars and sped off to the FBI holding center along with the other criminals. Sakura took in a deep breath at the words spat in her face before she quickly turned and made her way back to the car. Her team knew that the words had hit somewhere though. Somewhere that would show up when she later planned to interrogate the men.

* * *

><p>Once everyone had returned to the Suna FBI base, each criminal apprehended was placed in a different cell with a different agent to interrogate them. The smaller gang not affiliated with sound other than to get their narcotics from them were easy to crack.<p>

"How long have you been getting your drugs from this organization?" Kiba asked a male who was in his early twenties who looked scared as can be.

"W-we've always gotten what we needed from them. Even before I joined the gang," he replied. "Look I don't know anything about them! I only know that they are the same people we meet every time!"

"Do you know their names?" the brunette asked as he circled the table the other male was sitting at.

"No! I don't know anything!" he replied back frantically. "We just have a contact number! We call it whenever we are in need of more. We deal, but they are our supplier."

"And do you have this number?"

The male nodded frantically as he scribbled down the numbers. Sakura watched from outside of the interrogation room through the one-way window. "Once he brings back that number, have Shikamaru trace it and see what he can find on it," Sakura spoke up as she moved to leave the room. "I'm going to talk to Jirobo."

"Are you sure that's wise, Sakura," Gaara replied, stopping her at the door. "He was vicious with what he said and he knows who you are. Maybe it would be better if someone else interrogated him."

"I'll be fine," she retorted. "Leave the one who Jirobo came with for me as well. I know who he is and I have some specific questions for him as well."

* * *

><p>Sakura walked into Jirobo's room slowly and cautiously. She knew he was on edge, but he was also pissed about being knocked out before he arrived. He was handcuffed to the chair making sure he was safe to be around while being interrogated.<p>

"The pink haired bitch returns."

"So she has," Sakura replied as she sat in the chair on the other side of the table. "Now tell me Jirobo, since Orochimaru is not at the base, has he returned to Sound?"

Jirobo chuckled as he leaned forward in his seat, "And what makes you think that he's not at the base?"

"Oh, well I checked in with your organization you see, just a few days ago," she began as she also leaned forward in her own seat. "Not only did I find no sign of Orochimaru, but some of your lackeys confirmed my suspicion of him not being there." She placed her arms on the table and gave him a small smirk, "You really need to work on your security. You want to know what else you need to improve on? Cleaning up after yourself when you make a mess."

Jirobo glared at the female as she continued. "If you're going to kill someone randomly, make sure you leave no trace that you were ever there. You made it so easy to identify that it was you," she explained as she then stood up and began to circle the criminal. "Leaving a print is one thing, but then leaving DNA as well is just asking to be caught. So tell me, Jirobo, why did you do it? Why did you kill a completely innocent civilian in cold blood?" Sakura moved closer to him and slammed her hands down on the table in from of the criminal. "You did you take away the life of someone who had so much time left in this world and devastate his body beyond belief? Was it to prove a point? Was it to prove your dominance in the area? Or was it to satisfy a sick pleasure?"

The murderer chuckled, "I did it because I'm the one people go to for dirty work. When they want someone taken care of, I'm there man. Or in this case, if someone wanted a point to be made, I'm their man."

"Because you're not afraid of getting dirty or having the blood of innocent people on your hands," the agent retorted as she began to circle the table again. "So since Orochimaru's not around, I can only assume that Kimimaro was the one who called the hit."

Jirobo only smiled, "You know what I like about you pinky? The fact that you keep digging deeper into something that you should have never gotten involved in. I hope when the hit is finally called on you that I'll be the one to do it. I'll make it slow and painful, and I'll enjoy every second of it."

Sakura hummed at his answer as she moved back over to her chair and placed her hands on the back of it. "The funny thing about that is, you won't get the chance. You'll be in prison for 30 years to life. And while you're rotting in jail, I'll be locating the rest of your gang so that you can have some friends in jail. So enjoy the change in scenery while it lasts." She gave him a quick smirk before she left the room.

The Konoha agent let out a breath as she turned to find Gaara waiting for her. "Shikamaru didn't find anything on the phone. The name and location were both dead ends. I hope you can find something from the next guy or all we are getting out of this bust is a few arrests and not a lot of extra information."

"Walk with me and I'll tell you what I know," Sakura replied as she and the red head walked to path down to the next interrogation room. "When Orochimaru's not in charge there are different leaders in charge of different districts. I believe that besides Kabuto, Kimimaro is Orochimaru's next in charge. Under him there are others, but the ones I know of include Jirobo, the man I'm about to interrogate and two others. One of which is a twin of this guy and a girl. Sound is the area in which the largest interaction of the gang occurs, but Suna would be next on that list. I believe Kimimaro is calling all the shots here and Orochimaru is just informed after the fact because he trusts his judgment, plus he's already worrying about what's happening in Sound. I think the next best step towards shutting down this gang and Orochimaru is getting to Kimimaro. To get to Kimimaro, we need his other operatives of this division."

"And how are we going to get a hold of them?" Gaara questioned as they stopped outside the room in which the other sound member was being held. "They will be on their guard now that we have these two."

Sakura looked towards the man waiting in the interrogation room, "That's why I need what he knows." She looked back towards her red headed friend as she moved towards the door. "If I can get him to talk, we'll have the upper hand. If not, they will."

She walked in the room and moved straight over to take a seat in the chair across from the criminal, giving him a quick overview. He was average in body height and muscular standpoints; he had silver hair to his shoulders with long bangs parted to the right side of his face. He had a pale complexion and dark green, almost black, eyes but what was most noticeable about his features was that he wore a dark teal colored lipstick that stood out prominently on his face. "You have interesting taste in cosmetic product colors," Sakura spoke up as she leaned back in her chair and examined the criminal, placing a file on the table.

His dark eyes moved to meet her emerald ones and showed a small smirk, "It's not something you see everyday. Its hard to find someone else you has it."

"True," Sakura replied. "Unless that someone else is your brother."

That comment quickly earned the criminals full attention as his eyes narrowed towards the pink haired agent. "It now makes sense as to why we have reports of seeing you in two places at once," she added as she pulled the file off the table and began to mull it over. "So tell me Sakon, why did you join the gang?"

The silver haired criminal scoffed in reply as he leaned back in his chair, the metal of his cuffs rattling against his seat as he moved, "And why does it matter to you agent Haruno? Are you interested in every decision I ever made that led me to join this very gang?"

"Ah, so you're familiar with me," she retorted as she slapped the file back down onto the surface of the table. "That makes things so much easier since you now know the purpose behind my questions. So tell me, what's your purpose in your organization?"

"Sorry agent Haruno, you won't get anything out of me like you probably did from Jirobo," Sakon replied as he glanced up and down the agent with a sickening smirk.

"So you also don't want to share the location of your brother, Kin, or Kimimaro? Hey, I'll even take Orochimaru's location if you've got it."

"But I can tell you one thing," he replied as he leaned forward towards the table, presumably trying to intimidate the pinkette..

"And what _can_ you tell me, Sakon?" the agent replied as she also leaned forward accepting his challenge.

"If there is a pet rat, you should know that we'll find it."

Their eyes remained lock as Sakon continued to smirk. Sakura let out a short sigh as she stood from here seat. "Thank you for your…cooperation, Sakon. Enjoy your tiny jail cell."

And she left the room. It was time to call it a night.

* * *

><p>Most of Sakura's team had already turned back to their place of residence during their stay in Suna while the others finished up at the station with the criminals. The pinkette was exhausted and had just pulled up to their place seeing no place to park but out in the street on the opposite side of the house. She let out a sigh as she rolled her stiff neck, trying to relieve the stiffness that came with a 16 hour work day. Stepping out of the car she felt a breeze sweep through her pink locks. She grabbed the heels that she wore at the Gold Moss and moved to close the back door. When she turned around she was met with an unexpected.<p>

"Hello, _Sakura_."

Forrest Green eyes were the last thing she saw as her world went black.

* * *

><p>Her head hurt and her vision was blurred. There were muffled sounds around her; something like footsteps and things being moved around. Voices could now be heard which made Sakura's headache pound further against the walls of her skull. Her head was low with her chin resting on her chest. She tried moving her hands but she felt that they were strapped to the chair she was sitting in as were her ankles.<p>

"Ahhh, looks like she's waking up," she heard a voice announce as the foot steps got closer. She felt a hand grip her face and pull it up towards the light on the ceiling. Her vision was still blurred, but she could make out the outline of silver hair and the dark lipstick was a dead giveaway.

"Your brother was of no help to me earlier," the FBI agent spoke in a raspy voice. "But I hope you don't mind that you'll be away from him for a long time."

A harsh back-hand across the face was her immediate response. The pain rang instantaneously through her system as she held back her sound of discomfort. Sakura let out a short breath like laugh as she pulled her head up to face the other twin, "You're obviously pissed about the whole thing, but what did you expect? To get away with everything you've done with a slap on the wrist?" Sakura laughed again when she noticed his eyes narrowing. It probably wasn't the best idea, to badger a high class criminal but Sakura saw nothing else that could help her at the moment. "You sick bastards will rot in jail or in a grave for what you've done."

"Strong words for a woman strapped to a chair at the mercy of said criminals," a new voice spoke from behind Ukon. The silver haired twin backed away and a new male came into view. "Agent Sakura Haruno. We finally meet."

"Kimimaro Kaguya," she replied.

"At your service," the white haired male retorted as he moved closer to her bound form and began circling her position. "Agent Haruno you have caused quite the disruption in this organization. Wasn't the death of a civilian enough to tell you to back off? Or do you enjoy seeing death just as much as I do?"

Sakura stayed silent as she glared at the snow haired criminal who looked amused by her silence. He stopped in front of her and delicately clasped her chin. She tried to shake him loose but he only tightened his grip forcing her to look into his eyes. "Agent Haruno you should have stayed well enough away," he whispered quietly as he used his other hand to caress the soft skin of her face as his eyes trailed over the rest of her form. "It's such a shame that we're going to damage this beautiful body of yours," he spoke up again in his low voice as he ran his nose against her temple, taking in her sweet scent. "I'll try my best not to ruin your gorgeous face."

The agent took in a stiff breath as their eyes locked and his nimble fingers ran down the column of her pale neck.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean she's <em>missing<em>?!" Naruto screamed as he slammed his hands down against Gaara's desk. "Where the _fuck_ is she?"

"Calm down, Naruto. We're trying to figure that out as we speak," Shikamaru replied from his technological work station. "I'm trying to look at every surveillance camera I can find. I have part of a trail, but its gone cold right now."

"What do we know?" Sasuke asked as he took a seat in one of the chairs in the office.

"We can assume this was the work of the sound gang, more presumably Kimimaro since this is his area," Kankuro replied as he shuffled through some paperwork. "He's the only one high enough to call something like this."

"They are going to make an example out of her," Gaara spoke up quietly. "If they plan on letting her live, they will torture her. They will do whatever they can to get their point across. Worst case scenario, they kill her."

"How can you say that so easily?!" Naruto protested as his temper continued to escalade. "She is our friend! My _best_ friend! She's now in the hands of a highly dangerous criminal organization that plans to _torture_ her. This situation is not at all easy for me to swallow!"

"It's not easy for any of us, Naruto!" Kiba retorted loudly as he slammed his fist loudly against one of the walls. "But we have to do whatever we can to try and find her! So calm down and work with us!"

"I agree with, Kiba," Sasuke replied coolly as he stood from his seat. "I need to contact Kakashi and the others from my unit and let them know what has happened."

Gaara nodded as Sasuke pulled out his phone and exited the room. The Suna FBI chief's hand moved to cradle his forehead as he let out a deep sigh. How could he have let this happen? And why did it have to be Sakura?

* * *

><p>When Sakura woke up again, she was now strapped to what seemed to be a medical table. She knew that this was going downhill fast. She heard a door open and then close while footsteps made their way closer to her form. "So you're the bitch ruining all of our fun," a women's voice spoke up next to her. The pinkette turned her head to find the woman named Kin that Suigetsu had pointed out at Gold Moss. And from what she recalled him telling her, she knew she was about to be in some pain.<p>

"That would be me, I suppose," Sakura replied as she tested the tightness of her restraints.

Kin laughed, "No use in trying with those restraints. Tied them all myself. You won't be going anywhere. But I hope you're ready for a little payback agent Haruno."

'_Be strong. Don't scream. Don't break. They want you to break.'_

"Maybe we should get this first session on video," Ukon suggested as he entered the room, video camera in hand. But all Sakura heard was first session.

Kin smirked at her comrade as he circled around the pink haired agent. "Let's start with something simple, agent Haruno," Kin suggested as she pulled a knife off of the small table next to the medical bed. "First of all, let's show a little flesh." She tore the knife through the front of her black t-shirt, exposing her black bra to view. The dark haired female trailed the knife lightly along her pale skin before she tapped the cool blade against her cheek. "It gives me more skin to work with since Kimimaro told me to stay away from your _pretty_ face."

Suddenly she felt the table move so that she was no longer lying parallel with the floor, now she way lying on a bed that was perpendicular with the concrete; eye to eye with Kin. "That's better," Kin said with a smirk as she played with the weapon in her grasp. Ukon moved then moved in front of her with a smirk on his face as he was undoubtedly glancing at her exposed skin. "Comes with a better view too," his disgusting voice rang through the room.

"Where did you locate such information that led you to Jirobo and Sakon?" Kin questioned, moving in front of the pinkette.

Sakura did not show fear as she looked into the woman's eyes. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

That was not the answer that Kin wanted to hear as she punched the pinkette in the stomach. Hard.

Sakura held in the cough that wanted to escape after the unwelcomed force to her abdomen and stared up at Kin again with challenge shining in her eyes. "I'll ask you again, agent Haruno-"

"And you will get the same answer as before," Sakura piped in, cutting of the torturer. Kin smirked at the fire of the pink haired agent before she punched her once more in the stomach. "As will you."

The agent clenched her jaw at the result of her stubbornness. "Then ask me again if you really need too," Sakura spat at the woman. "And my answer will still be the same. And if you continue to ask, I'll just keep taking your punches."

"Then let's try something else," Kin suggested as she placed the knife against the skin of Sakura's forearm. "From _whom_ did you receive such information on the location of my other teammates?"

Sakura let out a breath, "A little birdy told me."

The pain was once more instantaneous. She could feel the sting of the knife piercing the skin of her arm and the red liquid running down to her wrist. "Agent Haruno-"

"The answer," she paused as she clenched her fist that now was collecting the blood from her fresh wound, "Will continue to be the same."

"Then lets try a different approach," her voice spoke up and before she knew it she was screaming as two of her fingers were now broken. Tears welled up in her eyes immediately as she let out a pained breath. "What a great shot, Kin. I'm sure her teammates would _love_ to see this," Ukon chuckled as he zoomed in on Sakura's pained expression.

Kin snorted in reply as she turned back to the agent. "Who gave you that information?"

"I found it myself," Sakura breathed as tried to move the damaged limbs only to be met with more pain.

'_Stay strong. Stay Strong.'_

"Although you may be smart, agent Haruno, there is no way that you could have received that information without a little help," the woman replied as placed the knife on the opposite forearm. "What you had was_ privileged_ information. Now, I'll ask again. Who gave you that information?"

Sakura stayed silent and waited for the slashing pain that she soon felt again on her forearm. She inhaled quickly to suppress her pain, but she knew her captors noticed. "Why do you have to be so involved in our business, _Sakura_? Wouldn't you be happier with a life at home, away from this world? Why don't you just let us mind our business while you mind yours?" Kin asked as she placed the tip of her knife at the top of Sakura's collarbone.

"Because your business _is_ my business," Sakura replied quietly. "While you guys continue what you do, I will continue what I do. And even after you're all locked up, I'll continue to stop people like you."

"When we're locked up?" Ukon laughed hysterically at her answer. "Hunny, you shouldn't be one to talk about being locked up when you're in a bind that you may not come out of alive!"

Sakura turned towards Ukon and met his dark eyes with her stern emerald ones, "Do you think that honestly scares me? Do you think I give two shits what happens to me? Kill me. I don't care. But you know what will happen when you do? My unit with come back at you with so much force that you'll wish you ended your own pathetic lives."

"Tough words for a girl who's at my mercy," Kin added as she pulled away the remains of Sakura's torn shirt, noticing the stitches on the side of her upper arm. "And what do we have here, agent Haruno? A little gun play gone wrong? It seems you are not well liked by anyone in the criminal organization."

"On the contrary, I'm well loved by the criminals back in Konoha," Sakura replied with a short laugh as she started to feel slightly dizzy from her loss of blood.

Kin scoffed before she applied another sadistic smirk to her features, "Well let's just add to what you've already got then, shall we?"

Before Sakura could say anything she felt Kin's knife pierce through her healing skin and into the bullet wound and she could no longer hold back the pain she felt as she let out an agonizing scream.

* * *

><p>"One of our spies in Suna has revealed that Sakura has been kidnapped by someone in Orochimaru's gang."<p>

"Orochimaru is certainly playing with fire. _He should know better_."

"He believes he is above everything and everyone. He may not understand the implications that his actions will cause."

"Does our source have a location of our pink haired beauty?"

"Yes. Shall we go?"

"Let's move before anything regrettable happens."

* * *

><p>Boo! Did I scare you? No? Okay. I didn't think I would. But guys, I wrote this in a day! I just got so inspired and just type, type, typed. I hope you enjoy. I left a little to the imagination near the end and I'm sorry if you didn't get enough man action in this. It was slightly sadistic and maybe a little filler-ish. And for those of you missing the Akatsuki, fear not. That is all I will say. I really should have been doing one of the 20 projects I have right now, but this just trumped all of that nonsense.<p>

Something I would like to request is some good reads. Any awesome stories you've read lately? Please share! It fuels the fire.

Need a BETA? Need to complain? Want to chat? Talk about how weird your pet/stuffed animal collection is? PM me. I like the random messages I get occasionally. But for real BETA? I love correcting stories, and as a Language Arts major, I enjoy it even more. Okay bye, I love you.


	8. As the Darkness Rolls In

Friends. Here is the next installment. Let's make things crazy.

DISCLAIMER: Per the usual announcement, I do not own Naruto.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Phone Conversation"_

RECAP:

"_One of our spies in Suna has revealed that Sakura has been kidnapped by someone in Orochimaru's gang."_

"_Orochimaru is certainly playing with fire. _He should know better_."_

"_He believes he is above everything and everyone. He may not understand the implications that his actions will cause." _

"_Does our source have a location of our pink haired beauty?"_

"_Yes. Shall we go?"_

"_Let's move before anything regrettable happens."_

* * *

><p>Ch.8 As the Darkness Rolls In<p>

Her vision was hazy as she found herself regaining consciousness. She felt her aching muscles from the beating she was starting to recall. Pain shot out from her shoulder where she remembered being ruthlessly stabbed in her healing bullet wound by the woman named Kin. How she truly hated that bitch right about now. Sakura let out a painful sigh as she tried to move her uncomfortable limbs only to find that she was still strapped to the recognizable medical table.

"So you're awake."

She knew the voice and chose to ignore it as she heard footsteps approach her restrained form. He stopped in front of her and she forced herself to raise her head and look into his cold forest green eyes. His hand reached out and grazed up her arm making her tense as he reached to her further damaged bullet wound. "That last one really took quite the toll on you. The amount of blood you lost was…_fantastic_."

Sakura clenched her jaw as she felt his fingers press down lightly on the damaged portion of her skin. The fact that this man found her pain orgasmic was appalling. Sucking in a pained gasp as he pressed down cruelly into her wound, she glared dully at the criminal. "You're truly beautiful when you're in pain, agent Haruno."

The agent kept her snarky and angering remarks in the back of her throat as the white haired male grasped her chin with his other hand and stroked the line of her jaw. "You should have told Kin what she wanted to know and maybe you could have saved yourself from the pain she put you through. But I'll admit, I still would have taken my turn with you even if she got what she wanted from you," he whispered as he stroked the soft skin of her face. "An opportunity like this is something I just wouldn't be able to refuse."

"You're _sick_. Your whole organization is _sick_," Sakura spat as she tried to pull at her restraints which only caused further pain through the rest of her body from her injuries. "You will die for what you've done to innocent people and the corruption you've caused in this world."

Kimimaro chuckled deeply as he seized her chin more harshly and moved his nose to meet hers. "Say what you'd like, my dear, but recall that _you_ are the one strapped to a table with only _me_ as your mercy. I suggest you start sweet talking me into letting you live."

The pink haired female scoffed as she narrowed her eyes at Kimimaro, "The only sweet talking you'll get from me is silence."

Kimimaro laughed as he pulled his nose down to her neck and licked some of the blood from one of the many wounds marring her translucent skin, "I'm going to enjoy hearing the sweet sounds of your screams coming from your perfect lips."

And she felt his teeth sinking harshly into her skin.

* * *

><p>Kimimaro watched his pink haired captive finally pass out from blood loss as he licked the excess red liquid that belonged to her off of his lips. He had done everything, pain, humiliation, even bribery, and nothing was working. He had done things to her that would make any other woman cry and beg for him to stop. Beg for even a sliver of mercy. But she didn't. She gave him <em>nothing<em>. The stubborn FBI agent would rather die than give up any information to anyone. He was impressed with her strong will, but it perturbed him to no end.

He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed.

"_Well?"_ a voice questioned from the other line.

"Nothing. She will not give us anything," Kimimaro replied as he gazed at the bloody but beautiful agent in front of him.

"_Then her purpose has expired. Dispose of her." _

"Sir, if I may, I see it as a waste. She is valuable to not only the Konoha FBI but the Suna FBI as well. I would like to keep her alive as bait. We may even be able to make a trade if the government protectors would fall for something along those lines."

"_Kimimaro. Regardless of what you want, I want her dead. She is to be made an example of. Finish the job, or I will find someone who will. Do not let your…_attachment_ to her get in your way. If I find out she is alive, I will be very disappointed."_

The green eyed male heard the other line go dead as his boss hung up the phone. He slid the phone back into his pocket as he moved towards the passed out agent strapped to his medical table. She was truly breathtaking. Her beauty was wasted in the police force but he was aware of her high levels of intelligence. With her assets, she could truly help his organization thrive to the best of its abilities. But he knew as she showed just moments ago, that she would rather die than do anything to help him.

Her head was lulled against her chest with her limbs strapped into their designated space. She no longer had a shirt as it was ripped with the amount wounds that her upper body had suffered. Blood soaked her skin as it continued to run from her fresher wounds and purple bruises from her earlier beatings showed through. He moved towards her as held her chin to allow a better view of her facial features. Her green eyes were hidden under her shut lids that now complimented dark circles due to lack of proper nutrients and care. There was a light bruise staining the cheek which received a hard backhand from the angry white haired twin. Blood had leaked from the corner of her mouth with some of the punches delivered to her stomach. In her battered state, she was even more striking.

"It's such a shame, agent Haruno," he whispered as placed his forehead against her own. "Your intuition will be the death of you; more literally than you may be willing to admit."

He heard movement coming from outside of the room, but ignored it as he continued to caress the unconscious woman's delicate features. He now heard shouts from the hall and let out a frustrated groan. These lackeys new better than to disturb him while he was _working_. Kimimaro stomped towards the door and threw it open. "How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Sir! We are under attack!" one of the men said who ran past him with a gun in hand.

"Who? He demanded shortly as he pulled his hidden weapon out of its holster, clicking the safety switch away.

"We have no idea, sir. But they are demanding a woman who is supposedly here," the man answered back.

The white haired gang member scoffed as he cocked his weapon, "The FBI doesn't know how to take a hint. Bring our forces to the front, I'll be there shortly." He moved back towards the room the agent was in and left the lackey to relay his message. The woman was still unconscious he noticed as he moved to one of the tables in the room that contained his supplies. He pulled out a small packet and moved towards Sakura. He cracked the packet and waited only a moment before her emerald eyes shot open. They darted around the room and he saw the pain shining in them from the aftermath of her torture. Finally her eyes focused on him, the he could tell she would pass out again in the near future from her blood loss and fatigue.

"Smelling salts," the man commented as he shot out his hand and gripped her throat tightly. Sakura struggled to keep air in her lungs as she tried to keep the rising panic out of her eyes. "Your friends do not know how to take a _fucking_ hint," he whispered with evident growing frustration and he met her nose to nose with a steel grip still around her delicate neck. "I plan to show them first hand what happens when they burry themselves in business that does not concern them in the slightest!" Kimimaro paused to chuckle briefly as he moved his lips only a hair away from her own, "I'm going to make an example out of you that will haunt your friends for the rest of their pathetic lives."

Sakura tried to look anywhere else and suppress her emotion while still staying calm with a steel grip around her neck. She knew there were no empty threats behind his words. It was a promise. She heard him call out to some of his gang members and was displeased at the selection that arrived. The familiar twin showed up with Kin not far behind him. Kimimaro finally released her and instructed them to unlatch her from the table and they each roughly took hold of either side of her. When she was released from the table, she could not support her own weight with the blood loss and replied on the harsh hold of the gang members to hold her up. Ukon gave out a laugh at her weakened state as he and the dark haired female carried her weakened form out of the room unsympathetically following behind the man currently in charge. "Were we a little to rough on you, pinky? Don't worry; it'll all be over soon."

She may have been weak, and she may be headed to her death, but she was not going to let them take her without showing the fiery spirit she was known for. She turned her head and spit on the white haired twin in utter defiance. He growled deeply before giving her an all too familiar backhand. She felt the taste of blood returned to her mouth as she spit it out onto his feet. "You stupid bitch," he cursed as his fingers dug painfully into the limb he was holding onto, making her feel the dull sensation of a fresh bruise forming.

Sakura let out a ragged breath that almost resembled a laugh as she formed a small smirk, "As if there is anything more you can say or do to scare me. I've already been told that I'm going to 'be made an example of' as Kimimaro tells me," the battered agent replied as she struggled to speak. The white haired male leading the group did not look back at the sounding of his name. She let a small smile appear on her lips as they continued to drag her through the hall they were in. The sounds of shouting and gun fire filled her ears, and all she could do was smile. "I'm not afraid to die."

"You should be," Kimimaro spoke up finally as he stopped and turned back to the gang members. "Incapacitate her. I don't need her causing anymore problems than she already has."

Before she could even react there was a harsh blow to her stomach the made her drop to her knees as the two members no longer supported her. She felt that the blow had at least cracked a rib and further broken one from a previous beating. Her violent coughs added to the many noises in the building as she felt Kin move behind her and stomp harshly on her ankle making it twist in a way that wasn't natural. Sakura bit into her lip harshly to hold the scream threatening to escape behind her lips. The thought came to mind that she inflicted that injury so she couldn't run off. It would serve its intended purpose.

She heard someone crouch down in front of her before the grasped her chin. She was met with Kimimaro's green eyes. "It really is a shame that it has to end like this, agent Haruno," he told her quietly as he brushed his thumb across her bruising cheek. "I would have loved to keep you alive. Your death will truly be a waste." He stood up quickly and grabbed her arm, pulling her down the hallway to where more of the noises were occurring. "If only your unit didn't break into my base demanding your safe return, I may have been able to keep you alive for myself."

Sakura said nothing, although she felt disgusted, as she left the emotionless look on her face as she tried to keep up with Kimimaro on her damaged ankle which was almost impossible as he continued to drag her through the halls. She didn't now what else to do. She would not be able to escape in her condition, let alone stay conscious. And with three powerful criminals surrounding her each with their own deadly weapon, her hope was slowly dwindling.

The she heard a familiar voice yell. "Where the _fuck_ is she?!"

But it wasn't a familiar voice she was expecting to hear. This voice made her freeze as her eyes widened and her jaw opened slightly to let out a shocked breath. She heard more gun shots as the voice yelled again. "You _fuckers_! Where the _fuck_ is _Sakura_?!"

It seemed that Kimimaro didn't recognize the voice and had no idea who was waiting for them around the corner. She didn't know whether to be fearful or thankful.

"You made the wrong decision coming here today!" Kimimaro yelled as he pulled Sakura against him as he braced himself a wall at the corner of the breaking hallway. She tried to struggle away from him but he only pulled her harshly against his body, wrapping a steel limb around her naked waist and pulled his gun out, pressing it firmly against the underside of her feminine jaw line. "Don't struggle, agent Haruno," he whispered hotly in her ear as his hand moved up to press against her damaged ribs causing her release a harsh, pained breath. "The more you struggle the worse I will make it for you."

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," she whispered almost to herself as her hands clung to the one holding the weapon, but she knew he heard her. He pressed hard into her ribs and she screams as tears leaked from her eyes.

"Because of you, your agent will lose her life!" Kimimaro called back as he rounded the corner with his body securing Sakura against him with the gun still pointed into her jaw. She felt his posture stiffened as he could finally realize who he was up against. In front of him were dead sound members littering the floor with blood staining the dark concrete. The cause of death was the three Akatsuki members now standing 50 feet down the hall from them. Sakura felt him push the gun harder into her skin on the underside of her jaw. She knew he was nervous and she didn't blame him because she was too.

Hidan, Deidara, and Kisame stood before them. Murderous intent was obviously swarming in their crazed eyes as they saw the damage done on Sakura and the lack of clothing on her top half.

"You really picked the wrong agent to kidnap," Kisame's gruff voice spoke up as he looked over Sakura's condition. She watched his expression fall and become dark.

Kimimaro scoffed as he squeezed into Sakura's ribs once more causing her to whimper and allow more fresh tears to leak from her eyes. She swore she heard Deidara growl lowly under his breath as they collectively watched her in pain. "What is the Akatsuki doing so far out of the safety of their hiding place?" Kimimaro demanded as he gazed at the men, being sure they were at a safe distance. "You should know better than to invade turf that does not belong to you. Orochimaru will be very displeased to hear about this little…_interruption_."

The Akatsuki's eyes narrowed in contempt.

"Walk away, gentlemen," Kimimaro added, as he pulled Sakura even closer towards his own body. "Walk away now or agent Haruno here may not be so lucky."

Sakura watched the situation around her unfold. She forced herself to remain conscious although she felt herself slipping away from the blood loss and pain. Kimimaro large hand was still pressed into her damaged ribs drawing out a continuous amount of pain through her system. The circumstance of the situation would go one of two ways. Either Kimimaro would shoot her, or the Akatsuki would shoot her by mistake. Either way, there was death.

"Maybe you should be the one to walk away from agent Haruno, yeah," Deidara spoke up as he pulled and all too familiar detonation switch pad from his front pocket. "I have this place rigged to blow on my command. And don't assume I won't do it because it'll kill everyone including myself and agent Haruno." He turned towards Sakura, azure eyes blazing with something she couldn't quiet recognize, "An eternal afterlife with her would be my dream come true, yeah."

Sakura whimpered. Not because of his words, but because of the jealousy that radiated from her current captor as he tightened his grip on her ribs. He then trailed his hand up across the naked flesh of her stomach, between the valley of her breasts as he found his way to her throat where his hand constricted tightly. She was struggling to breath but she tried to calm herself as much as possible. Any overexertion would only make her pass out quicker, but at least she wouldn't have to feel the pain of a bullet to her brain.

"As if I would give you the _pleasure_ of killing her yourself," Kimimaro spat as he continued to choke the woman in his grasp. "I'll shoot her before the explosion reaches us. You'll watch her die painfully before you kill yourself. So I dare you to test my patience, _Akatsuki_."

Her vision was blacking out as the other criminals before her began to appear hazy. Dots danced across her vision as she gasped in another small breath which may even turn out to be her last. She was disgusted. Disgusted of what she had been put through, disgusted at the memories of her torture that were permanently engraved in her brain, disgusted that this was the way her life was going to end. Then the aghast feeling left her as she felt tears collecting in the corners of her dimming green irises. She was never going to see her friends again. She was never going to get to hear Naruto's infectious laugh, or see Sasuke's cocky smirk. Kiba would never hit on her again, which she was finding that she almost enjoyed. She wouldn't have another intelligent conversation with Shikamaru or Neji. Ino couldn't rant to her about her ever constant boy troubles. No more of Kankuro's stupid jokes and Gaara's immediate scowl towards his brother's stupidity. And Kakashi would never be able to tell her to stop working so hard. It was the little things that she would never have again that made her want to live so badly.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to fight, she wanted to do something, but she couldn't. She couldn't do _anything_. And the fact that she couldn't do anything was what killing her the most. Her nails dug painfully into Kimimaro's hand and arm as she used the last bit of her strength to attempt in her freedom. He responded with a tighter grip around her windpipe which only caused her to fight harder against the restraint.

Suddenly she heard the rapid fire of an automatic weapon going off down the hallway on their left. Kimimaro's attention was refocused on the interruption as his gaze drifted away for only a second. In that second, she heard Kin scream in pain as Ukon's cry fell shortly after. She heard more shots being fired but in her inebriated and incapacitated state, she couldn't identify the source. One shot rang so closely that her ears were ringing. She felt Kimimaro relinquish his grip from her neck enough for her to shove him off of her as she reached out her hand to brace herself against the wall. The movement was too rapid for her and when she reached the wall her blood loss and previous lack of oxygen hit her full force as she could no longer support herself. She thought she heard someone call out to her, but she ignored it. Her damaged ankle screamed in pain at the way she fell to the floor, hitting her knees on the hard on the blood stained concrete.

Her mind was screaming anxiously at her to move, but she didn't have the strength to follow through. Her breathing was ragged from the choking she received as she braced her head against the wall letting the cold textured concrete soak into her feverish skin. She couldn't focus on the noises and screams around her as she tried to open her eyes. Consciousness was key if she was going to try and get out alive. A sliding noise reached her ears as she felt something hit her thigh. She noticed it was a gun. Without time for another coherent thought, she took the gun in her grasp and pointed it at the man who was holding her only a moment ago. He noticed her new stance and smirked. "Is that really wise, agent Haruno?" he questioned as he moved to step towards her but was stop by the sound of a gun shot.

At first she thought the shot came from her own gun, but she realized she was mistaken when Kimimaro's chest started to bleed through the front of his shirt. The white haired male's forest green eyes widened as she felt like he was staring right into her very soul. He fell forward and crashed to the floor. She was then met with another familiar face holding the gun that had just shot the sound native in the back.

His pierced lips pulled up into a seductively sinister and dangerous smirk. "Hello again, princess."

No words were formed as all she could release was a shocked exhale.

* * *

><p>The phone rang in his office and he picked it up immediately. "This is Subaku."<p>

"_The sound base is currently under fire."_

"Who is this?" Gaara question.

"_No time for questions. This is where Sakura is being held and I have a feeling she is in danger."_

"Who is attacking the base?"

There was a long pause before the male on the other line replied. _"Akatsuki."_

Gaara grimaced as he pushed a hand through his blood red locks. "How can I trust this information is true?"

"_I'm the one Sakura has been speaking to,"_ the male replied. _"But you have to hurry. If I correctly familiarized myself with the Akatsuki's intent with agent Haruno, I fear you are about to loose her again."_

The line went dead.

"Fuck!" Gaara cursed loudly calling attention to Naruto and Kankuro. They shot him a questioning look at the unusually erratic behavior for the composed FBI chief.

"Sakura's being held at the sound base which is now under fire by Akatsuki."

Naruto growled as he stormed out of the room and started barking orders. "Sasuke, Kiba, get your equipment. Gaara call in back up. Now!"

"What's going on, Naruto?" Kiba questioned as he grabbed his gun and followed the blonde out of the building.

"Sakura-chan is in the middle of a fucking war zone at the sound base. She may be in more danger than she was before," he growled out, his aura taking a menacing turn.

"Who is attacking the base?" Kiba questioned as he continued to follow after the Konoha unit member.

"The fucking Akatsuki."

Kiba stopped walking and clenched his fists, "Shit."

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. It was rare for the man before her to ever come out of hiding for anything; even her. But the fact that he was standing only a few feet away from her right now had her completely on edge. This man was the definition of dangerous. A psychopath with dark philosophical plans for the rest of the world whether they agreed with them or not. He was the lead criminal in a gang that most of the country feared.<p>

His hair was a rust orange color that complimented his pale skin. His face was covered in different kinds of piercings while his dark and endless eyes of ringed molten silver were some of the most menacing she'd ever encountered. She didn't have much experience in the field with him, but she knew enough to know she should keep her distance.

She braced her hand on the floor and tried to push herself up in an attempt to move away but she felt a hand push back on her shoulder preventing her movements. Her emerald eyes shot open as she was now faced with the familiar wild violet eyes of Hidan. She tried to move the gun in her possession towards him, but he was quicker knocking the weapon out of her hand and capturing her wrists.

"Get your filthy…fucking hands," she had to pause and realign her breathing as she continued to fight unconsciousness, "Off me, Hidan."

He smirked at her fighting words as one of his larger hands slipped behind her neck and up into the thick locks at the base of her skull. "Fat fucking chance, darling," he replied as his other hand made his way to the underside of her knees. He took in her damaged form and grimaced slightly at her condition. Sure he loved hurting people and seeing them in pain, but Sakura was not someone who fell under that category. "You're in no condition to plan some fucking heroic escape from this shit hole. Why do you even think you're getting the fucking chance in the first place?"

Sakura let out another ragged breath as her head lulled to the side, her chin resting on her shoulder as she tried to focus on Hidan's form as well as his words. She felt his large hand rubbing soothingly at the base of her neck. "You knew where I was," the agent whispered softy as her eyes slid over to meet the eyes of the Akatsuki leader. "How?"

Hidan chuckled softly as he slowly gathered her form before lifting her bridal style into his arms, "Shit. We always know where you fucking are, babe. You can't run from us."

Using whatever strength she had left to muster, she tried to push back on Hidan's chest, "I won't go with you," she protested in vain against his hold. "I have to get back to my unit. They have to know I'm okay."

"Princess," the sensual baritone voice beckoned recalling her attention to his form and ceasing her fight against Hidan. "You're in no position to be making requests. You will be coming with us. That is not up for negotiation."

"I _will not_ be going with _you_," the agent replied with resentment as she began pushing herself away from the Jashinist who only chuckled at her useless actions. "I'm not going to be a prisoner in your _seedy_ organization to be used for some….some _plaything_! I have a life; a job! If you were smart, you'd bring me to the hospital where my team can retrieve me."

The pierced male chuckled at her words as he watched her loose the fight with her own consciousness as her green eyes darkened and her lids began to drop over her irises, "You're much more than a plaything, princess. We'll take care of you and treat you like royalty. Don't fret."

Sakura could only watch through hazy eyes as Kisame and Deidara joined her line of sight. If she thought she was in trouble before, she knew she was in for even worse now. She was at the mercy of the Akatsuki and she didn't have anyone to break her out of this one. She didn't fear so much for her physical being as she did for her mental stability.

She felt a chuckle reverberate from Hidan's chest as he leaned closer to her ear. "Fucking go to sleep, babe. We'll get you out of this shit hole and somewhere you'll be safe."

"No…" she moaned as willed herself to fight through the pain and unconsciousness that had begun to feel like a permanent part of her being. The fight was almost lost as she felt as though she was falling into oblivion with only psychopaths are her saviors. "No…"

The orange haired leader chuckle again as her eyes drooped close. "_Sleep, princess_."

* * *

><p>"<em>It's simple, agent Haruno," the sound member stated as he continued to press his fingers into the open wound on her arm making tears collect in her eyes and whimpers release from her lips. "You share what you know with me, and I won't have to hurt you like this."<em>

_Sakura tried to keep as silent as possible as she bit harshly into her bottom lip to try and focus her attention on something, anything else; anything but the searing and excruciating pain that was pouring out of her once stitched arm. The taste of blood from her now wounded lip filled her mouth. She kept telling herself not to break down. She kept telling herself that she would soon pass out from the blood loss and it would be over. For now. _

"_It's really a shame, Sakura," Kimimaro purred as his unoccupied hand shot out and grabbed her hip, digging his nails into her already bruising skin. "I could think of much more…_pleasurable_ ways that we could be spending our time together."_

"Breath. Focus. Tune him out. Do not let him break you."

"_In fact," he stared again as the hand on her hip trailed up the naked flesh of her torso brushing against her broke ribs and grazing the swell of her breast covered by the only clothing on her upper half. "I don't see why we can't partake in those spoils right now."_

_She knew he was trying to get a reaction out of her, but she also knew not to take any of his threats lightly. The feeling of his skin on her own made her nauseous. She hated this man. _Despised_ him. He was the scum of the earth taking the place right below his master. She never thought that she would become subject to one of the many crimes he committed. Although she knew she was digging deeper than she should have, she should have been more careful. She should have known that he was not to be taken as lightly as she was treating him. She had thought of him as an aggressive dog in a cage controlled by his master, Orochimaru. Now he was free from his cage, rabid and circling his newest prey. _

_Sakura focused her attention on the wall that was just above his head in her line of vision. _"Don't look at him. Don't give him the attention he craves so dearly." _He noticed the defiance in her eyes and let a sadistic smirk cross his lips. "Oh, Sakura. Your disobedience absolutely _thrills_ me. Those eyes of yours can't hide anything from me," he stated as he grasped her chin and refocused her attention back onto his sinister green eyes. "I love to see them spike with pain when I stab you…here," his lazy voice drawled out as he stuck a small knife into her thigh causing her to let out a very painful wheeze. "I love to see them fill with fear when I touch you…here," he added as he lightly trailed his fingers over her covered breasts causing her to bite the inside of her cheek. She tried to void herself of emotion. She tried to think of her friends. The first time she met Naruto, when Sasuke opened up enough to consider her a friend, when Kiba told some guy at a bar that he was her boyfriend to get him to leave her alone, when she got the call from Kakashi about wanting her on the force. Anything. Anything to take away the pain and embarrassment she felt in the moment. She swore that she would never let herself feel this helpless, but she could never have prepared herself for this. _

"_But I'm wondering something, _Sakura_." She knew he was no longer playing around. Kimimaro was one who respected superiors and was well mannered or the people he respected. He had been calling her agent Haruno since she arrived, and not that he was dropping the formalities more often, she knew she was in trouble. "Will there still be fight in your eyes when I try and take more than just flesh from you?"_

_It didn't take someone of high intelligence to understand exactly what he was referring too. He meant to defile her in the only way he had not tried yet; the way that could break even the strongest of people. The feeling of his hand trailing down from her collarbone to her breasts, lingering longer than she would have liked, town to her taunt abdomen and to the waistband of her pants. "Will you break down and cry like most do?" he whispered in her ear before she even realized he moved closer. His breath was hot and dirty against her skin in the worst way. He was loosing his composure which made him even more unappealing. His fingers toyed with the button of her pants and Sakura let all the muscles in her body remain as tight as a constricted snake. Successfully releasing the silver button from the loop of her pants she felt his unwanted touch move down to the zipper. "Will you beg me to stop?" Kimimaro whispered dangerously as he brushed his nose against her pale temple and took in the dimming fruity scent of her cotton candy locks. Her resolve was breaking but she would not let it show and as far as she was concerned, Kimimaro noticed nothing._

_That much was true as his frustration rose to higher levels than he was used to due to her silence. She was provoking him in such a dangerous way. He didn't know if he wanted her to beg him to stop or continue to fight him with what little energy she had left. With a frustrated growl emitting from her throat he ripped down the zipper of her garment and began to tug down on side exposing her black undergarments to his demanding eyes. "But really, it won't matter," he hissed into her ear. "I will take what I want from you because Sakura," he paused as he pulled her chin back to face him, locking their eyes together, "You are at my mercy. Which is not something I have very much of."_

_Her eyes were silent to him but he knew she was fighting with her own emotions. He smirked in satisfaction as placed a slow, cold kiss at the corner of her lips, tasting some of the blood that had leaked out from her beating while one of his hands danced along the hem of her underwear at her hip. Kimimaro chuckled at the abhorrence that flashed through her eyes as he trailed affection down her jaw line and to her neck, "But you may even find yourself enjoying what I do."_

"_No!_" Her emerald eyes shot open and her upper half launched from her laying position, hands gripping the material of what she was previously laying on. A cold sweat was covering her body as no words could be formed from her throat. The nightmare was so vivid, back as the pain in her body hit her full force she was reminded that it wasn't just a nightmare. It was a memory. Salty tears filled her eyes as she just started blankly at the gray wall in front of her letting the tears free from her eyes as the scenes of her capture came back to her. Her lips were parted as she let her rapid breaths from her over exerting heartbeat leave her body.

It was over now. She was away from the sound base. Away from Kimimaro. She was safe.

She heard a sound come from the right side of the room as a door opened. Her eyes were drawn to the noise, still showing her fresh tears. They widened. "_No_…" she whispered more to herself than the other person now entering the room. "No…" Her posture became tense as she backed herself away from the person that was now approaching her distressed form. "No, no, _please_….no," she whispered as her tears continued to fall across her bruised cheeks. The rest of her memories of what happened returned to her the moment she recognized the man coming through the door. Her knees shrunk up to her chest and she placed her elbows on top of them, bringing her face down into her forearms as her hands clawed at her locks in desperation. The mental strain of what she had just endured was as fresh as the wounds on her body. She was now in for a whole different type of emotional unsuitability in the case of her newest captivity. The bed dipped with the addition to the new weight and her grip tightened in her hair as her body began to shake. She didn't know if she would get out of this one alive, let alone with her mental state intact.

A strong hold pulled her into the intruders grasp then into his lap. A gentle hand ran through her hair as the other hand pulled her stressing hands into her lap, his fingers running soothing patterns over the pulse point on her wrist. The tears never stopped flowing from her eyes as she felt him burry his nose in her hair and place a cold kiss on her temple. "Shhhhhhhh," he shushed quietly in a way to calm her down as he held her in his iron grin. She felt the cool metal texture of his piercings upon her skin as he spoke. "You're safe now, princess. You'll always be safe now that we have you."

She choked on a sob rising from her throat as he continued to whisper sweet nothings into the pale shell of her ear, his warm breath caressing the sensitive flesh.

"You're _ours_ now, princess. We'll _never_ let you go."

* * *

><p>Dammmmmmmmmmmmmn. This was a long and juicy chapter. How special. So Sakura's in the clutches of the Akatsuki, Pein has made his appearance and appears to be just as obsessed as the rest of them. *Insert long sigh here* I'm being a bad and neglectful mother. I know what story you all <em>really<em> want updated. I'm working on it. Patience is key. In the mean time, enjoy this, leave me love, and take my new poll.


	9. A Cage for a Pet

Recap:

_She heard a sound come from the right side of the room as a door opened. Her eyes were drawn to the noise, still showing her fresh tears. They widened. "No…" she whispered more to herself than the other person now entering the room. "No…" Her posture became tense as she backed herself away from the person that was now approaching her distressed form. "No, no, please….no," she whispered as her tears continued to fall across her bruised cheeks. The rest of her memories of what happened returned to her the moment she recognized the man coming through the door. Her knees shrunk up to her chest and she placed her elbows on top of them, bringing her face down into her forearms as her hands clawed at her locks in desperation. The mental strain of what she had just endured was as fresh as the wounds on her body. She was now in for a whole different type of emotional unassailability in the case of her newest captivity. The bed dipped with the addition to the new weight and her grip tightened in her hair as her body began to shake. She didn't know if she would get out of this one alive, let alone with her mental state intact. _

_A strong hold pulled her into the intruders grasp then into his lap. A gentle hand ran through her hair as the other hand pulled her stressing hands into her lap, his fingers running soothing patterns over the pulse point on her wrist. The tears never stopped flowing from her eyes as she felt him burry his nose in her hair and place a cold kiss on her temple. "Shhhhhhhh," he shushed quietly in a way to calm her down as he held her in his iron grin. She felt the cool metal texture of his piercings upon her skin as he spoke. "You're safe now, princess. You'll always be safe now that we have you." _

_She choked on a sob rising from her throat as he continued to whisper sweet nothings into the pale shell of her ear, his warm breath caressing the sensitive flesh. _

"_You're ours now, princess. We'll never let you go."_

* * *

><p>Ch.9 A Cage for a Pet<p>

"What do you mean she's gone?!" a voice shouted. "We received the call only 10 minutes ago and you're telling me everyone has cleared out?!"

"I'm sorry, sir. There is no sign of her in the vicinity," another voice replied evenly as its owner hung their head, not wanting to anger anyone any further.

"Keep looking!" the man shouted as a constricting feeling hit his chest. "There has to be some trail of where she may have gone. Find it and report back to me."

"Yes, sir."

The frustrated man let out a sigh as he rubbed a pale hand across his forehead and back into his red hair. The sound of footsteps echoing across the nearby concrete reached the redhead's ears as he looked up to great the new arrival. "Anything?"

"Blood," Kankuro replied. "A lot of it. The Akatsuki were not merciful when it came to their infiltration. This base may not have been the focal point of the Sound operation, but there were enough members for a small army here and every one of them is dead."

"The body count?"

"Up to 45 now and still counting."

"And Kimimaro?" the first male questioned.

"Dead. Shot through the chest with an automatic rifle of some type. He was found among most of the carnage as well as some of the higher operatives previously mentioned."

"And Sakura?"

Kankuro let out a short breath as he rubbed the back of his neck, ruffling his shaggy brown hair, "Nothing."

"That will be all. Head back inside and continue your search."

Kankuro watched as his brother's demeanor slowly crumbled before him. The red head began to walk away and towards the inner workings of the crime scene. He tried to call out to him, but someone beat him to it.

"Gaara!" Kiba's voice called out from the main hallway as he ran to greet the Suna agent. "You're going to want to come check this out."

They made their way quickly through the inner workings of the building, cautiously moving around the blood and bodies that were covering the floor, until they reached a room near the end of the hallways. As they walked in, Gaara was faced with what looked to be a medical table covered in blood.

"What's this about?" he questioned looking around with disgust as he noticed medical tools caked in blood.

"I believe its Sakura's," Kiba spoke lowly as he held up a tattered piece of clothing from one of the tables. "This is the shirt she was wearing when I last saw her."

"There's a pink lock of hair in one of these buckles," Kankuro examined as he moved around the table. "This is probably where they were keeping her."

"And torturing her," a new voice spoke as they entered the room.

The men in the room turned towards the Uchiha entering the room. "That much is obvious," Kiba stated until he noticed a device in the dark haired male's hand. "What's that?"

Sasuke tossed over the device and to Kiba's surprise it was a video camera. "If you can stomach to watch it, be my guest. I couldn't."

Kiba flipped the side screen on the device open and played back the footage. He let out a pained sound as he turned his head away from the screen. "They recorded her torture. Fucking _bastards_."

"Shut it off," Gaara stated as he couldn't stand to listen to the sounds coming from the camera. "Look around and see what you can find in here."

Stepping out of the room to breathe, Gaara pulled out his phone and dialed. "Kakashi. We have a problem."

"_What is it? Is Sakura alright?"_

"We don't know."

"_What do you mean you don't know? Where is she now?"_

"Akatsuki," he replied as he rubbed a hand over his brow in frustration. "They found her first and slaughtered everyone at the sound base we've been keeping tabs on. They took her. I need you to dig through your files and see if you have any information on them in terms of a base of operations in this area. If I can't find a lead here, that's our best option."

"_I'll see if I can find anything. Keep me posted." _

Gaara hung up the call and finally let his emotions take over as his fist met the surface of the wall next to him.

"Sakura…"

* * *

><p>Consciousness came back to her sooner than she would have liked. She wished to stay asleep because she felt safer in her dreams than she did in the painful truth of her reality. Her entire body was in afire with pain as she awake and a small gasp left her lips as the raw agony of her injuries was made evident once again. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them escape. She had every right to cry after what she had been through with Kimimaro and what she was currently thrown into with the Akatsuki, but she refused to allow herself the weakness. If she was going to make it out of everything alive, she had to be strong.<p>

The only person she had encounter since her arrival had been Pein, and she prayed none of them would bother her again but she knew that wasn't going to be the case. When left in the care of criminals with unhealthy infatuations, relapse always takes over when reintroduced to their drug of choice.

She was now at the mercy of the criminally insane and dangerous. It was tolerable when they were either behind bars or she had a gun strapped to her person, but this situation was one she never thought she would be in. She knew how deep obsession could run, but she never thought the Akatsuki would ever succeed in their goal to detain her in anyway.

"I'm so fucked," she whispered to herself through clenched teeth as she felt the pain of her ankle return as she tried to rotate it. She went to console the pain but felt that she couldn't move her right hand. Turning towards the limb, she found it handcuffed to the frame of her bed.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" she exclaimed with a hoarse tone to her dry voice. She found that she was in the same attire she left in from the sound base; her pants and her bra. There were bandages covering some of the more serious injuries she was beginning to recall.

She heard the sound of the door not too far away from her opening and was greeted with the large form of Kakuzu as she continued her pained struggle. "Can't have you running off anywhere."

"Pretty fucking hard when I can't even walk on my own. Seriously though? Handcuffs?" her panic was starting to take over in her voice as she spoke. Her heart began to race faster now that she was faced with one of the criminals. What would they do to her now? Kill her? Maim her? Sacrifice her to their god? The gruesome possibilities were endless.

"Calm down," Kakuzu told her as he moved closer to her bed. His voice was deep and commanding and doing nothing to help her current psyche. "You're going to reopen your injuries."

"Get away from me," she replied as she tried to move away and shrink into herself only to have pain shoot complete through her body at her movements. She let out a painful gasp as she noticed one of her bandages now soaking in fresh blood on her arm. Kakuzu was coming closer to her and the memories of her torture came back to her. Panic injected itself into her body and fear flooded her senses. "Stop! Don't touch me!"

He tried to call out to her but it seemed she couldn't comprehend the situation around her. Pulling out a syringe, he moved over to her swiftly, blocking the flailing limbs coming his way and stuck the needle in her arms. Within moments, she was back into a sleeping state. He took note of all of the bandages that were covering the visible portions of her body.

It was evident enough that her previous encounter with members of the Sound operation left her with scars of not only the physical variety, but the mental as well. Grabbing new bandages, he sat on the edge of her bed and removed the dressings around her reopened wound on the outer portion of her arm. The wound was familiar and yet he grimaced at how it changed. It was once at a point of healing, but all that progress had been lost once something just as dangerous had disrupted its improvement. Cleaning the wound and redressing it, Kakuzu stared down at the comatose woman lying in the bed.

It was true that his affection to the woman didn't run as deeply as some of his comrades, but it didn't mean he felt no attachment. She was captivating in every way without even trying. Her intelligence, bravery, compassion, and determination were truly remarkable qualities, but they were also the reason for her undoing. He let out a deep sigh as his large hand moved to cup her cheek and catch the tear that he broken free from her orb. Leaving the room, he made his way back down the hallway to where the rest of his operatives were waiting.

"Well?" Sasori questioned as all of the males turned their attention towards him.

"Her injuries are extensive. Stab wounds, broken fingers and ribs, serious bruising, possible internal bleeding. The physical torture was brutal," Kakuzu answered plainly. "But I worry it is not just her physical aspect that has been affected."

"You don't think he…" Deidara started his statement but couldn't bring himself to finish it. All of the men knew what he was thinking and it made their blood boil.

"I'm not sure. She is certainly traumatized. We need to tread lightly," Kakuzu stated.

"A more pressing issue is that of Orochimaru," Pein's deep tenor voice spoke from his seated position. His hands were clasped neatly in his lap as one of his legs crossed over the other. The man's posture was esteemed and his expression void of emotion. "He will not be allowed to go off with a simple warning."

"I feel the opportunity for some fucking sacrifices coming on!" Hidan exclaimed as his tongue darted out to lick his lips with hunger. The thought of killing in Sakura's honor made his heart soar.

"As if there wasn't enough blood spilled on Sakura's behalf already," Itachi's voice played the devil's advocate lightly.

Pein allowed a small smirk the grace the corner of his lips causing the piercing in his lower lip to angle. "There will never be enough blood spilled on her account. I would fill oceans with the blood of innocents for her and it still would never be enough. For now, we will start with those that have wrong us. What do we know of Orochimaru's location?"

"We know for certain that he is not operating within the city," Sasori answered as he leaned against a wall with a look downcast towards the floor. "More likely than not, he is hiding where he knows he is safest."

"He is never safe from me," Pein's tone was dark and low. His intentions were clearly read between his words as the Akatsuki now had their next target.

"A word of caution to this tale," Itachi's voice spoke up once more, all eyes returning to him. "Now that we have Sakura, the FBI will be hunting us attentively. It will be hard to go unnoticed. It may be wise to lay low for the time being. We should enjoy our victories as they come."

"As long as Orochimaru is alive, Sakura is in danger. He wants her dead and I will not allow him to exist on this earth. He will die," Pein replied, ignoring the heed of warning from the Uchiha.

"Orochimaru is not agent Haruno's only enemy," Kakuzu added. "She has many."

"Then the blood will not stop spilling until she is safe. Dig through our intel, contact our outside sources, hide any trail," the pierced man instructed towards the group of men. "We have our angel, it is now our task to keep it that way. Take out any threat in our way."

"The FBI is a threat," Kisame finally spoke up. His words were simple and to the point. They were a thought that most men in the room shared. The comment caused Pein's smirk to widen across his features as his gray eyes shined, "Let their blood stain the streets. Do what you must."

The men in the room nodded as they took their leave, all except a blonde who had disappeared shortly into the conversation.

* * *

><p>Deidara had made is way down to the room in which their angel was being kept. Entering and swiftly closing the door behind him, he made his way to stand next to the queen sized bed that was housing the sleeping beauty he had grown so attached to. Her pink hair fanned out around her head and was contrasted beautifully against the stark white color of the pillow case. A sheet was pulled up to her shoulders, hiding her translucent skin from his view. Taking a seat to the left of her, his hand reached out and gently stroked the side of her face. Her skin was so soft, her features were so beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. The true epitome of magnificence. His movements stopped when his eyes fixated on the discoloration of her cheek. There was a shape of visible purple and green hues that marred the perfection of her beauty.<p>

The memory of seeing her again for the first time since she had been wounded in his exchange came back to him. She was in the arms of the unworthy sound bastard. Most of her upper body was exposed, but he did not enjoy the scene like he should. Not when cuts and bruises poisoned her perfect skin and the look of pain and fear clouded her irises. The image would remain forever branded into his memory as he prayed he would never see her like that while he still walked the earth.

"Oh, Agent Haruno," he whispered like a lover in her ear. He knew she was asleep and would hear nothing, but it didn't stop him from his expression. "You were never meant to end up in this state, yeah. If only you would have come with us before, we could have kept you safe."

The limb stroking her face moved like a feather down her jaw and to the column of her slender neck. He noticed more bruises there that took the shape of fingers that were meant to exhaust her of breath back in the dark place that they found her. His own hands began to shake with emotions he couldn't take the time to understand as they slowly pulled the sheet away from her body. The further away the sheet moved, the more he was exposed to. He saw planes of her skin that he had never seen before. She was in pristine shape, but now was not the time to enjoy it. All his azure eyes could focus on were the bandages that seem to cover a large portion of her smooth skin. He stopped the sheet at her hips, taking in the damage dealt and he began to understand the emotions in his system; anger, rage, sadness, helplessness. The inner turmoil was raging on.

"I'm so sorry, yeah," he whispered as he moved to lay in juxtaposition next to her. He turned her face towards his own as he rested his forehead against hers. She was unresponsive in her sleep, and a part of him was glad for it. He knew she would never let him hold her like this is she were awake so he would enjoy the contact while it lasted.

"This wasn't supposed to happen to you," his voice continued softly as he tenderly stroked her skin taking into account how truly delicate she was no matter what tough exterior she showed to the rest of the world. "You're safe now, yeah. I'll never let anyone touch you ever again."

His fingers traced the line of her pale lips that reminded him of lips that belonged on an expensive looking china doll he would see in the shop windows as a child. He pressed his lips to hers and took in the soft petal texture. There was no reciprocation behind the action, though he wished more than anything that there was. Pulling back, he stared deeply at her features and let out a defeated sigh. "Perhaps one day you'll realize how much you truly mean to us, yeah. But until then, we'll keep you safe. That much I promise you."

* * *

><p>"<em>Who told you about our base, Agent Haruno? It's a simple question and all you have to give me is a name. Once you do that, all of this can end. You'll be allowed to live your life once again."<em>

_His voice was like nails on a chalkboard at this point in the interrogation. Everything he was saying was a lie. She would never be allowed to live a normal life. They would not let her leave this place alive, and if they did they would only find her again and kill her. The pain was unbearable, but she would rather die with honor and protect whomever she could than die a coward and betray the trust of those that had depended on her. So she remained silent with her head dipped lowly so that her chin could rest against her chest. _

_She heard him let out a sigh, "You really refuse to make this easier on yourself. It's as if you're enjoying our time together. Is protecting this _rat_ so important that you would risk your life to protect them? Would they do the same for you, Agent Haruno?" The thought of enjoying anything about this man was truly repulsive. At one point in time, she was sure he could have been a different man with a different life if his cards had been played inversely, but the past was not something she could dwell on nor would it protect her from the pain she knew he would continue to conflict. _

"_Regardless of what they would or would not do for me, I will not be branded as a traitor. I never will," her voice was quiet, hoarse with lack of hydration and use. _

"_Interesting choice of words, Agent Haruno," she could tell that something she said had amused him. The smirk on his face was as clear as day even if she wasn't looking directly at him. "Would you care to be branded as something else?"_

_A different choice of words would have been optimal. She had sealed her own fate with this one. She remained silent. She had dug a hole far enough for herself this time. She heard him shuffle around somewhere in the prison he was keeping her in. "I'm so glad you reminded me of this, I had almost forgotten that we had it here."_

_The faint hint of something smokey reached her nostrils and her suspicions were now confirmed. "We always have this little toy in our interrogation rooms but I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of using it." His footstep grew nearer until they stopped directly in front of her. His hand reached out to grab her face so that they could now stare directly into each other's eyes. _

"_I think you meant to say torture chamber when you called this an interrogation room," her voice told him softly as she tried her best to keep her composure. "Let's be honest; it's the best name for a place like this."_

_He let out a brief sound of amusement as they stared into the green eyes of the person across from them. Her eyes were diming shade of jade that still had a subtle shade of soft cut emerald bursting at the seams. His were the wildest shade of forest green that looked as though a fire had just been lit beneath them. "Of course, Agent Haruno. I suppose I was just trying to spare your feelings but at this point in our little conversation that hardly seems necessary." _

_She did her best to keep her eyes off of the burning instrument in his current grasp, but she knew he saw her eyes slip a quick glance at the utensil and it was all he needed to know her fear. "One last chance, Agent Haruno," his voice was low as he moved close enough that his hot breath fanned across her face and made her want to cringe. "Who are you getting your information from?"_

_The FBI agent swallowed what little saliva she had left in her mouth while her whole jaw clenched as a way to deviate from the pain she knew was coming. Her defiant silence was the only answer he received. _

_And that infuriated him to no end._

"_Try and enjoy this, Agent Haruno," his voice was clipped and his frustration was clear. His body was now pressed harshly against her own while the arm hold the branding metal in his hand was reeled back, ready to strike. "I know I'll enjoy knowing you'll have this scar as long as you are alive. Instead of being branded as a traitor, you will know the pain of being branded for you defiance." _

_The fire compressed against the exposed skin of her abdomen and she let out a horrifying scream of agony._

* * *

><p>Her eyes shot open as she sucked in a breath, as though the pain from her dream was real. As she assessed the gray ceiling above her, she remembered it was a memory that had already passed. It was over and she allowed herself to take the large breaths she needed to calm her racing heart and shot nerves. She felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her forehead.<p>

It's over. It's over. It's over.

She hadn't realized she was saying anything out loud until what she assumed were her own thoughts received a response.

"It's over. You're safe."

Her breath hitched in shock as she felt her hand grip the sheets she was laying in. She finally realized that the voice was much closer than she initially suspected as there was the familiar warmth of body heat radiating from her left side. Letting out a final breath in attempts to calm herself down, she finally turned towards the voice to find Itachi lounging unconcernedly next to her in the bed. His back was resting against the headboard at the top of the furniture while his legs ran informally perpendicular to her own body in the length of the bed. One hand was loosely holding a book that he appeared to have previously been in the middle of while his other hand was seemingly intertwined in her hair running unencumbered patterns across her scalp.

"What the hell are you doing?" her whisper was intending to be harsh and demanding but it came out groggier than she had been hoping for.

"Well, I came to check on you some time ago and you were sleeping so peacefully. You and your bed looked so inviting that I decided to stay with you," his voice was exactly as she had always remembered it being. Like a smooth velvet or the sweet texture of chocolate. It was sinful but precise. It was no wonder it did so well in the legal world before he went rogue. He was charming and deceiving like a rose with thorns – dipped in the deadliest of poisons. His good looks only added to his dangers.

"Back off, _Uchiha_," Sakura hissed as she tried to move far away from him. "I don't recall _inviting_ you into my bed."

"Although you may not be able to recall anything of that nature, and I assure you I will patiently await for that _willing_ request," his voice began with a small smirk as he pulled the female back towards him and locked her into place, his tone changed and the playfulness fell away as his dark eyes bored down into her own. "You were recalling something else. Care to indulge on that?"

His words made her break eye contact as her mind was transported back to the dream, which replayed continuously as a memory, came back into her mind. Her eyes seemed to develop a glaze over them as her hand not cuffed to the piece of furniture moved subconsciously to the new scar she knew she now possessed. Her slender fingers inched over her exposed flesh under the white sheet. She couldn't even find it in herself to care that she still remained shirtless in the presence of her enemies. She could feel the tender areas of bruising and the patches in which bandages now covered other damaged areas. When she finally came across the place she knew the burn was located, she paused and let only her index finger smooth over the gauze pad that was covering the area.

Itachi watched as his words brought her into a new world and he allowed himself to take in her movements. Seeing that her hand had finally settled on a specific area, he watched the many emotions flash through her expressive eyes. She didn't know it, but she was telling the story of the specific instance without even meaning to do so. Her emotions were enough from him to know that whatever memory she had awoken from was a traumatic one.

Deciding to indulge his own exploration, he dropped the book into his lap and used the free limb to move the sheet away from her upper body. Her eyes refocused on him in means to protest but he was too quick. He didn't need to take in the battered state of her being to know how serious her injuries were. He didn't need to dwell on the fact that she was tortured in some of the most inhuman ways possible. He needed to understand her fears one at a time so he could help alleviate them and take away the pain.

Itachi noticed that her fingers were focused on a specific bandage. It seemed to be larger than some of the others that covered her upper body so he understood that this was not like the others. It was a dissimilar method – a different way to earn her secrets, whatever they may be. He peeled back the bandage quickly with a sharp gasp from the woman below him. After the noise came the sounds of her protesting words, but he couldn't hear her. The world around him was muffled as he stared at the contrasting wound defacing her skin. The skin that had constantly reminded him of the palest and perfect porcelain.

He knew what it was. He knew what had created it. Most of all he knew how much pain it would have caused. The wound took a definite shape. It wasn't a random pattern that could easily be forgotten. It was a reminder of the reasons she had received it and it would remain a constant reminder until she took her last breath. The dark haired criminal felt her struggling and the need to cover the wound from any eyes to be laid upon it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in response. Her protests halted as she start up at him with confusion. Her green eyes were slightly widened. He knew she didn't understand what he was apologizing for, but it didn't matter. She was an important person whether she came to realize that position or not.

His hands slid into different positons. One on the side of her face while the other rested on the exposed skin of where her neck met her shoulder. His hands felt too warm on her exposed skin and she didn't want it. It reminded her of Kimimaro's hand all over her body and the brand he had used to burn into her skin. She doubted she could object to the contact. He would do whatever he wanted just as Kimimaro had.

"Stop," her whisper was barely audible. She saw him moving in closer and her breath caught in her throat. His face was now so close to hers and she could feel his breath along the planes of her face. It wasn't like Kimimaro's but he was too close. Her pulse began to elevate and she couldn't find the words to protest. It was as if her body had froze and she no longer had any control.

Taking note of the panic now present in her eyes and the tenseness her muscles took on, he knew he had crossed a line in her fragile state. Even though all he wanted to do was wrap himself around her and be the one who made her feel her safest, now was not the time. He let out a short sigh in defeat that was hardly audible before he moved in to press his lips to the crown of her head.

"I'm sorry, Agent Haruno," he whispered so softly and with such caring that she almost felt bad for wanting to send him away. "I know this isn't your ideal situation, but you must know that we will protect you and keep you safe from anyone and anything that has means to harm you. You will never go through anything like you did ever again. We will make sure of it."

Slowly, as if it pained him to do so, he moved away from her and left the bed, moving towards the exit to her new prison. Before he left, he had one last thing to say. "I understand that you don't want to face your trauma now," his voice was calm but his words made her throat clench. "But you will have to come to terms with it eventually. When you do, we will be here for you. Do not forget that."

And then he was gone, locking the door behind himself.

Sakura let her eyes train back onto the blank ceiling above her. Tear pooled to the rims of her eyes and this time she did not fight them. They fell down her pale cheeks as her partner's brother's words played in her head and the strains of memory from her time at the Sound base twirled around her consciousness. She couldn't deny what happened to her, nor would she. She remembered everything so clearly and the pain of it all most prominently.

Her mind then drifted to her friends and her tears flowed more freely. She knew the Akatsuki's threats were real when they said they wanted her. The idea that they would actually succeed was something she severely overlooked. Now she had to wonder – would she ever make it out alive?

The question plagued her thoughts and her free hand absentmindedly ran across the shape burned into her abdomen. That shape that could only be associated with Orochimaru and his gang. The shape of a simple music note.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until hours later that she was greeted with the presence of another person. She only wished that it was someone else. Anyone else.<p>

"Doll face," he greeted with dangerous smirk readied at his lips as he leaned against the door frame.

At this point she was sitting with her back against the headboard and her hands in her lap. Due to her lack of shirt and her will to still remain modest, she had pulled the white sheet up to her chest and tucked it under her arms. In Sasori's eyes, she looked like a lover the morning after a passionate night. An image he could wholeheartedly appreciate as an artist.

"Sasori," she greeted in a placid monotone.

While she had time to herself, she was able to mull over her thoughts. She was thankful for the time. It had given her the interval she needed to grieve over what had happened. Although everything wasn't perfect, she felt she was more mentally stable. As mentally stable as she could be when under the care of the most fear criminal organization in the country.

"Don't give me that, doll face. You can't even show a little enthusiasm to see me?" he asked as he remained in the doorway moving his arms to cross his chest.

"I don't believe you deserve anything, especially my enthusiasm."

"Cruel. And why do you believe that?"

She let out a scoff, "The last time I saw you, you kidnapped one of my best friends and three police officers in relation to my unit. All as some ploy to lure me to a creepy warehouse where you proceeded to kidnap me, only for me to end up being shot. I wouldn't call that a positive foot to leave off on."

"You would have been better off coming with us that night," Sasori told her as his voice dropped some of its playful edge. "If you would have come with us, you would not be in your current situation looking as though you were a cadaver for a medical student. Has that yet occurred to you?"

She turned away from him and started at the wall across from her as she took in a breath, "Regardless of what could have happened, I'm here now, not that I had any say in the matter."

He took a few steps forward until he stopped at the edge of her bed. "Are you really going to completely ignore what happened to you? Have you seen yourself yet?" His tone was serious, but she refused to play in to his prodding tactics. Sasori noticed the blatant ignorance to her state and moved towards a mirror that was hanging on the far wall of her cage.

Removing it from the peg keeping it on the surface he moved to the end of her bed with the décor in hand. "Look at yourself," Sasori demanded as her eyes avoided him. His frustration grew. "Look, _Sakura_."

Calling her name received the attention he desired just enough for her to glimpse in the mirror. The glimpse turned into a stare as she caught sight of her new appearance. Bandages covered a large portion of her exposed skin. Blood was caked around some of her wounds and in the pink strands of her hair. A bruise stained one of her cheeks and she reached a hand up to run across its surface. She recalled that it was a powerful backhand that had marred her skin. Her hand moved down to the column of her neck where more purple discoloration contrasted on her pale skin. The markings took the shape of fingers whose intent was to choke the life from her. She now also noticed the small casts on a few of her fingers that had been broken. She looked like a victim she would have interview in the hospital after a serious attack. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Are you still going to act like nothing happened?" Sasori's voice was cruel and demanding. He was not going to beat around the bush like others in his organization would. "Are you going to accept the fact that your bones are broken, your flesh is cut, your skin is branded, because it's something you _deserve_?"

Her head whipped back in his direction as her eyes sparked with emotion once again. "Don't _you_ dare try and tell _me_ what I went through. I know what I went through. I felt every punch, every stab, every broken bone. I felt _everything_ and I remember _everything_ so clearly that it hurts. So you don't get to make me feel guilty for the path I chose or the condition that I'm in. Because I fucking know what _condition_ I'm in without your god damn reminders. So why don't you royally _fuck off_ and leave me the hell _alone_."

By the time she was done she felt her breaths coming out harder and pain move to some of her broken ribs. She shouldn't have let him work her up to the point where she was in physical pain, but it sure felt good to express her feelings. Especially when he was looking so smug about it all. But she refused to look back into the mirror that was still in his possession. She didn't want to see herself like that again.

Sakura half expected the red headed male to continue with his rant about her wellbeing but instead his smirk only widened. "Glad to see your condition didn't put a damper on your spirit, doll face."

She rolled her eyes at his response as one of her hands moved to her ribs in attempt to console her pain. Sasori took note of her pain. He moved to relinquish his hold on the mirror and move back to her bedside. "I'll have to have Kakuzu grab you some more morphine."

"Absolutely not," she protested, looking back up into his cinnamon colored eyes. "Whatever that fuck injected me with last time as been messing with my depth perception and other normality's a person should have. I want nothing else from your medical armory."

Sasori raised a brow slightly at her words and allowed his mind to drift elsewhere, "So you'd like something else then?"

Sakura scowled at the sexual innuendo he implied and took in a deep breath to try and steady the pain shooting through her abdomen, "A shirt would be great."

He chuckled at her request as he hand reached out to cup her cheek softly. "Kakuzu's motto is that everything comes at a price," he told her as his thumb paid gentle attention to the bruise on her face. "What are you willing to give?"

The scowl remained present on her face as she replied, "I'll let you keep that pretty face of yours. That's your reciprocation of payment."

Sasori let out another chuckle. "Oh?"

"When I find anything I can use as a weapon, I promise to damage something more valuable than your face," she told him plainly. Her scowl had now morphed into something more amused. His smirk remained but he did not grace her with another laugh. He knew she was serious.

"Very well then, doll face. I accept your terms," he pulled his hand away and moved to leave the room. "Someone will bring you something to change into, but someone will still be checking your wounds."

She didn't reply as she shut the door behind himself. A few minutes later she was greeted with another familiar face. Another she could have gone without seeing.

"Brought you some fucking clothes, babe," his voice announced as he entered the room with such a large smile on his face gracing her with the view of his white teeth. "I'll even help you fucking put them on."

"Fucking lecher," she mumbled under her breath, but she knew he heard her. As he walked around to the right side of her bed and bent down towards her cuffed hand. Pulled out a key, he held it in front of her face with a smirk. His violet eyes gleamed playfully as he stared at her.

"Say fucking please, bitch."

"_Fucking please_," she forced herself to say. She wasn't going to turn away an opportunity to be closer to freedom of any sort. His smirked widened as he freed her hand from its restraints. She knew as much as he did that she would be trying to make a run for it in the state she was currently in, and we was not an easy opponent to go up against in any situation.

She rubbed her newly unencumbered wrist and relished in the free will of having two hands once again. Hoping the Hidan would simply leave once he did what was requested of him was highly unlikely. He tossed what looked to be a shirt and a loose pair of pants towards the end of the bed. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, she noticed that his eyes were focused too keenly on herself and it made her stomach flutter with nerves. He always had the tendency to be utterly capricious.

Holding true to that statement, he moved forward so quickly that she didn't register what was happening until his hands were moving across her face and tightly into her hair while his lips compressed with her own. Her sea foam eyes widened and she tried to struggle away but she found that Hidan was much too strong and it only caused further pain in her injuries to move the way she needed to. He was taking her breath away quite literally with his close proximity and that she was doing whatever it took to keep her lips closed from his tongue that so desperately wanted into her mouth.

When he finally seemed to get his fill, he pulled away from her mouth but still kept his hands anchored in her pink tresses. His forehead moved to press against her own as she was given an up close look into the violet and magenta flecked eyes she'd never come across in anyone else. They were uniquely Hidan.

"Fuck," he panted as he stared deeply into her own eyes. "You're so god damn beautiful."

Using whatever strength she could muster, she pushed her hands against his chest to find that it was solid muscle. He wouldn't be moving anywhere unless he wanted to. "Get the fuck off me, _Hidan_," the agent demanded as she tried without avail to push on the wall of pure muscle in her personal space.

He groaned in ecstasy at her words. "I fucking love it when you swear," Hidan purred as he moved his mouth to the shell of her ear. "Do it again."

Rolling her eyes, she chose to ignore him as she continued her attempts to push him away. Not liking the fact that he was being ignored, Hidan licked the shell of her ear in hopes to get a rise out of the young female below him. He did.

"Get the _fuck_ off of me, Hidan!" Sakura exclaimed as she found the fighting against him was becoming even more painful for her injuries. "Shit!" she exclaimed as she stop her pushing and held on to her left arm in pain. Turning her attention to the discomfort, she noticed she tore the same wound in her arm yet again. "Look what you did. Are you fucking happy now?!"

Oh, he was. With her struggling against him and her new attention on her arm, she had allowed herself to drop the stark white sheet that was covering her scantily clad upper half from his view. To add to that, a fresh layer of blood was now coating her right hand as she removed part of the bandage and tried to stop the bleeding from one of her more serious wounds. Snatching away the hand covering her wound, he held it in front of his face, taking in the contrasting dark color of her blood with the paleness of her skin. It was beautiful.

"Fucking delightful," he whispered as he recalled that she had posed a question.

He heard her trying to call his attention back to her, but all he could see was her blood. He wondered if she would taste as sweet as the others he had tasted in his lifetime. His curiosity couldn't be contained as her took her entire index finger into his mouth. Sakura gasped at the close contact and was too shocked to move as she could only settle for watching the scene unfold. His tongue circled around her knuckles delicately. His mouth was hot and she could feel her blood being cleaned off her finger only to be replied with his saliva. He finally pulled her finger out of his moist cavern and moved her hand over his lips in a caress. Purple eyes fluttered back behind his lids as he let out a breathy exhale.

"_Fuck_," he moaned softly. "You're prefect."

Sakura could only watch with wide eyes as he continued to lap up the blood that remained on her hand with his pink tongue. Her emotions were that of disgust and mild fascination. Never had she seen someone so entranced and flat out _obsessed_ with blood. It was like a drug to him.

"Hidan," a new voice in the doorway spoke. "Stop attacking her. You're obviously freaking her out."

"Fuck off, gills," Hidan replied with a slight whine to his tone. "I'm busy here!"

"Get the fuck off her," the man warned once more. "Pein wants to see you anyways."

Hidan groaned as he looked up into Sakura's eyes once more. "Don't fucking hesitate to ask if you need help getting those clothes on," he told her as he looked down at her exposed plane of skin once more and smirked. "Or off."

She glared at him plainly from her position below him. He slowly got off of her and made his way to the door, giving the new arrival a heated glare before he left.

"Fucking Jashinists," the male mumbled under his breath as he moved to the side of her bed. He had a small box with him which looked like it contained first aid supplies. She eyed the box before looking up into the criminal's dark eyes.

"Do they formally train you on first aid in a criminal organization?" she asked with a brow raised in his direction.

He chuckled at her quip towards his abilities and sat on the edge of her bed, opening the box that looked so small in proportion to the rest of his body. "I also know CPR if you'd like me to test that out with you, I wouldn't say no to the opportunity for practice."

She rolled her eyes as he shot her a toothy grin. Her hand shot out quickly to grab for the box of supplies, but he pulled it out of reach just before she could reach it. "Show me a certificate and maybe I'll let you get near me with medical supplies," she told him as she held out her hand towards the kit.

He laughed, "Show me yours and I'll let you do it yourself. I have to be sure you're getting the best quality care, princess."

"Fuck off, Kisame," she shot back. She had nothing with her so their little argument was over. As if he was going to let her do it anyways. Opening the box, he pulled out a few fresh bandages and some balm to disinfect her wound. One of his hands grasped lightly onto her forearm while the other slowly pulled the remainder of the blood caked bandage covering her wound.

Kisame eyed the wound with displeasure as he turned his attention back to her face, "Can't you stay out of trouble for longer than a week?" his tone was still playful, but she could tell his question was still seeking a serious response.

"Absolutely not," she answered simply as she cocked her head to one side. "Haven't you heard that getting into trouble is a large portion of my job? Some would even say that trouble is my middle name."

Although she was nervous to be around any of the criminals in the gang she was trapped with, she felt a certain ease around Kisame, not that she would be cuddling up to him anytime soon. Everything about his was untroubled and jesting which made it easy to speak her mind without fear of a strange response. It was not saying that he didn't hold her on some type of pedestal; he did. But he would not stoop to taking what he did not earn. Something Sakura allowed herself to feel a slight comfort in during her time in their criminal hideaway.

"Careful now, princess," his baritone voice was deep, mellowing his playful edge. His free hand tossed the soiled bandage and grabbed for disinfectant. "It almost sounds like you want to be here."

Her only response was a hiss as he applied the stinging medication to her aggravated laceration. The pain was tolerable compared to what she was used to feeling, but the discomfort made her shift in her seated position. "Don't ever mistake anything I do as wanting to be here." Her voice was serious as she clenched her jaw to outweigh the pain. He didn't answer as he reapplied a gauze bandage to the affected area. Once he finished, he pushed the box of medical supplies towards her. "You know what's bothering you. Do what you need to. I'll just supervise," he told her as he took a similar position to her own and reclined against her headboard, letting his absurdly long legs stretch out until they reached the end of the furniture piece.

She was thankful for the chance to tend to her own wounds. It allowed her to feel some type of freedom even if she was still under careful watch. Slowly dragging the kit across the bed, she took slow and carful movements to move her legs from under the sheets to the side of her bed. The pain in her ankle screamed out with her movements, but she still allowed herself to seat herself on the edge of the bed. Reaching for the clothes at the end of her bed, she grabbed the slightly larger shirt and carefully maneuvered it over her head. The process was painful, but worth it.

She noticed that whomever had initially tended to her wounds was modest about removing her pants. There were haphazard wrappings around several stab wounds in her thighs and a binding around her left ankle. Her lower half looked much better than her upper.

The agent let out a pained breath as she finally felt the bruising in her abdomen and the cracked ribs affecting her ability to breathe. She realized she couldn't even sit up without exhausting herself. There was no way she would be able to tend to her own wounds.

Feeling Kisame's eyes on her back, she knew that he knew this as well. At least he was willing to give her the chance. "I'm going to need your help, but you're going to have to contain yourself when I tell you what you need to do," her voice was low and showed her disappointment in asking for help. She didn't have to turn around to confirm he was listening. "Can you handle that?"

He let out a small sound of amusement as he pushed himself off the bed and made his way to sit at her side. "It's not rocket science, princess. I promise not to jump you unless you ask."

She chose to ignore his comment as she continued. "I need to get better access to the wounds on my legs," she began as her fingers unraveled the light colored wrappings around her thighs. "To do that, I need my pants off."

"With pleasure," was his answer. He moved to stand but she placed a hand to his chest to stop him. He looked towards her but she did not return the glance. "Do you have a knife?"

"I'm not giving you a knife, princess."

"I'm not asking you to give it to me. You're going to need it to get them off," she told him simply as she finally returned his gaze. "I won't be able to get them over my ankle so you'll have to cut them off."

She stared at her wondering if she actually gave him the instructions he thought she did. "Now you understand why I can't have someone like Hidan handled with this task."

He smirked, "Obviously."

She sighed as she felt him move to the side of her bed, pulling a knife out of his back pocket. He went down on a knee and moved one of her legs to rest on the other. "Just do it," she whispered.

The cold metal of the knife blade made her shiver and made nerves travel back through her system. She heard the sound of ripping fabric as he glided the knife up past her shin and knee. He carefully moved around where he bandages once covered as he reached closer to her waist. "If you cut off my underwear, I will gouge your eyes out. That is a wholehearted promise," her voice told him as he allowed himself to smirk as he finished the full first leg. Soon after he quickly finished the second leg. The shirt she had previously covered herself with pooled at her hips, hiding most of herself from view. She was now getting the first chance to look at the damage on her legs.

"I suppose it could be worse," her whisper was quiet and was only meant to be of her own musing, but she knew he had heard it.

"It shouldn't have happened at all," he added as he grabbed for fresh bandages from the container still placed next to her on the bed. He wrapped some around the stab wounds on her thighs after he disinfected them. He then moved towards her ankle and noticed the massive swelling and strange angel the limb had taken. "This needs to be reset."

She didn't bother asking how he knew that or if he was familiar with the process. She was sure he had broken many bones in his lifetime, and not ones that belonged to him. The agent nodded simply in response as her hands clenched into the bed sheets as an anchor to the real world.

"This is going to hurt," he spoke up, looking into her green eyes.

"I know," she replied in a whisper as she felt her face contort to cushion the pain that was to come. With a swift turn and pull of his wrist, she felt the bones around her ankle move back into their intended position in which all she could respond with was a painful scream. She tried to contain it, but the pain shot like electricity through her body. Kisame grimaced slightly at her pained noise, but gave her no comfort or coddling as he rewrapped the ankle and lowered her limb from his hold. His words would not ease her pain.

"Kisame," her painful whisper reached his ears as she let out constant exhales to manage the pain that was starting to dissipate. He said nothing, but she knew he was listening. "Why am I here? I don't understand what you all gain from this."

His didn't answer at first. He remained silent and looking down at the floor before rising to his full height in front of her. One hand ran back through his blue tinted locks as the other rested at his waist. "I may not be the best person to ask that question to, princess."

"But I'm asking you anyways," she shot back with slight desperation ringing in her tone as she stared up at him. "Please. I deserve that much from you."

His sigh was deep as it reverberated through his chest cavity. "All I can tell you is that you're important to us."

"That's a load of bull shit and you know it," Sakura shot back with displeasure at his response. "You gain _nothing_ from having me here." She paused as she stared down at her lap, emotions rushing through her like a river. "Let me go."

"On the contrary, princess, we gain everything from having you here."

She let out a short breath that sounded of a scoff of disbelief as her hands toyed with the small casts occupying some of her damaged fingers. "But what does that even _mean_?"

"You are what is missing from each of our lives," Kisame explained as he watched her refusal to meet his gaze. "Now that we have you, we have a sense of completion."

"You have nothing," the agent whispered harshly in reply as her eyes flashed with anger and met his own. "I may be in your grasp, but _nothing_ about me belongs to any of you. And it _never_ will."

* * *

><p>"Kimimaro is dead, Kabuto is locked up," the man let out a sigh. "Jirobo and Sakon will soon join him. All because of that foolish little bitch of an FBI agent. She's accurately ruining all of my <em>fun<em>."

"Kin and Ukon, sir?"

"Presumably dead with the rest of them, not that they can't be replaced, but that is time and effort I don't have to waste at the moment. Where's the little bitch now?"

"Scouts report that after the attack from the Akatsuki she was taken with them."

"So they infiltrated my base and killed my operatives for one derisory girl?" the question was rhetorical as he hummed in his own response. "That simply won't do. The Akatsuki truly have grown reckless. Doubtful that she'll survive their company for long, but the Akatsuki cannot go unpunished for what they've done."

"Sir?"

"We need Kabuto. Work on that until further instructions are given."

"Sir, what of the Akatsuki and the rest of the FBI?"

"I will handle the Akatsuki," the man replied as a smirk grew across his lips. "As for the FBI, we have evaded them for this long. They are docile for the time being. Now get to work."

"Yes, Orochimaru," was the only reply before he left the room.

"Sakura Haruno, you have truly been an annoyance on this earth. I'll have to use whatever tactics necessary to eliminate you and anyone else who has the audacity to stand in my way. The price for discontentment is death."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I'm alive. Call off any search parties you may have sent out. This was just around 10,000 words. I've still got it. Life's been hectic with being a new college graduate and trying to be an adult in the real world now. I'm still trying to find my footing. I hope to have another story updated within the week. The one everyone has been drooling over for a long time. Currently trying to find a BETA reader. Have a good one? Help me get in touch. Side note, I am writing this from a new laptop and am still get used to the larger keyboard so I apologize for any spelling mistakes. Leave your love and know that I love you as much as the new red velvet Oreos.


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